Family Ties
by Calypphire
Summary: After receiving the news of his brother's death, Severus Snape is faced with having to care for his nieces and nephews. Let the Adventures of the Snape Family begin... AU and probably OOC.
1. Let the Adventure Begin

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter One

Let the Adventure Begin

Busy writing and marking away the many assignments within his office, Severus Snape was so deep within his own concentration, and trying to decipher what on earth he was reading half the time, that he didn't see the owl coming in through the window, until it landed on the desk right in front of him.

Once the owl was unburdened by the letter Snape had taken from it, it flew back on out, leaving the Potions Master to open the envelope and pull out the contents. Seconds after reading it, he quickly packed up what he was doing and went to tell the Headmaster that he had urgent business to attend to.

A number of hours later Snape was in Australia, entering the office building he had to go to, where he was met with whoever he had to, he wasn't really caring much on the names or faces of the people right now, he only cared for the real reason he had come to this blistering heated country.

Snape was taken to a room where they were located; his nieces and nephews, the children of his older brother, Julius and his wife, Katherine, were all waiting for his arrival. He surveyed them all from the eldest to the youngest;

Thirteen year old Elijah, average height for a young teen, neatly cut black hair and hazel coloured eyes, he had the signature hooked nose that seemed to carry down the Snape line, only in this boy's case, his face really suited well.

Next was Victoria, age ten, and seemed to have taken on her mother's features, with high cheekbones, blue eyes and wiry looking, with straight dark brown hair. She also had pierced ears.

Gabriel was third at age seven, also featured dark brown hair and high cheekbones, dark eyes and also wiry looking.

Last was the not yet two year old Ainsley, small little girl, with black hair and brown eyes.

"Who are you?" Gabriel asks with a frown.

"I'm your Uncle," said Snape.

"You know, Dad's brother from England?" said Elijah.

"I never met the guy, give me a break!" Gabriel replies.

It was true, Snape hadn't met the youngest two, and it had been years since he had last seen the other children. The relationship between the brothers had become rather strained overtime, because of their different pursuits in life and their different coping strategies of dealing with their childhoods. Julius, on and off, would try and reach out to his younger brother, even invited him to come out to Australia, where he decided to settle with the woman he met whilst travelling and created a family with.

Overtime, Julius just stopped trying, it was not as though Severus hadn't made any effort on his part, he had, he was there to see Elijah and Victoria on a handful of occasions, but time just slipped away from him, for now he was faced with not only the fact of his brother and his wife had both died, and help arrange for funerals for them both, but he was named the legal guardian of the four children standing before him.

He didn't know if he was going to be able to handle this sudden shift.

"What do I need to do, so I can get the children out of here?" he asks the Social Workers.

It was the start of a whirlwind of the next couple of weeks, where he had to learn just who these children were, and how to help them adjust moving from Australia to the United Kingdom, and cope without their parents.

Pulling strings was only half the fun, but Snape managed, especially since he spent most of the time during the year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At least he didn't have to worry too much about finding a school for Elijah to continue his learning in wizardry. It was a bit different for Victoria and Gabriel, as they had been going to the same school, where it was a mix of a day school and a boarding school, because it catered to just some of the witch and wizard population of Australia and a few of the surrounding islands.

Then was also Ainsley to think of.

So far he had been able to palm anything to do with having to change her nappy, or toileting, as she was starting to learn how to use a potty from what he was bought to understand, to Elijah or Victoria. Snape wished he could say the same about discovering the Wiggles, Thomas the Tank Engine and, if he had to listen to that little red high pitched voiced monster one more time, Snape would gladly stick his head into a wall just to see if that will make things better.

By the time they had all reached the school based in the Scottish north, the adjusting was far from over.

###

"Who are you?"

Elijah looks up from his book to see a gangly looking redheaded boy, accompanied by a girl with fuzzy brown hair and eyes and a boy wearing glasses and a messy mop of black hair.

Upon his entry into Hogwarts, Elijah had to be sorted into a House, and was placed into Gryffindor, which was pretty ironic for the Head of Slytherin House who was his Uncle.

"My name is Elijah, I just moved here."

"Where are you from?" asks the girl, as she and the two boys sat down opposite to Elijah.

"Australia."

"Why are you here?" the redheaded boy asks, almost a bit rudely.

Elijah presses his lips together at this.

"Ron!" the girl chastises, before turning to Elijah; "Sorry for my friend's tongue, he doesn't seem to remind himself at times."

"Maybe if he asked more nicely, I'd give him the explanation," Elijah says, as he studies the redhead for a moment, before looking at the girl. "But perhaps if I knew who you were, I might give my reasons for being here."

"I'm Hermione Granger; these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," said the girl.

"Nice to meet you," said Elijah, with a small smile.

He had wondered when he was going to meet these three, especially the famous Harry Potter, since his Uncle told him that he was in the same House as this boy.

"What are you reading?" Hermione asks.

Elijah showed the cover with the title _'Numerology and Grammatica'_.

"So you're going to be in Arithmancy?"

"One of the few elective subjects that looked to be interesting, as well as Ancient Runes; heaps different to the subject choices at my old school," said Elijah.

Hermione was about to reply, only to be distracted by the appearance of a boy who looked way too young to even be at the school sitting right next to Elijah.

"Aren't you a little short to be at this table?" Ron asks.

"Aren't you a little tall for your brain?" Gabriel retorted back, causing Elijah to laugh. "I'm allowed to be here, I asked my Uncle if I could sit with my brother, instead of with him and the other teachers."

"Your Uncle?" asks Harry, who had been quiet up until this point.

Gabriel nods and points toward the staff table.

The Golden Trio turned to see where he was pointing; looked like they weren't the only ones who were being marvelled by the sight before them.

"Why is Snape with a baby, and who is that girl with them?"

Snape was practically ignoring the stares from the other students, too busy trying to tackle a pretty unruly toddler, with a girl trying to help him.

"Those are our sisters, Ainsley and Victoria," said Elijah.

This got the three to stare at the boys;

"That would mean Snape is your Uncle?" Ron blurts. "Shouldn't you be in Slytherin House?"

"Ron!" Hermione goes to tell off.

"I would much rather be back in Australia, with our parents, going to my old school. But since our parents are both dead, and Uncle Severus is our only remaining relative, we are here, at Hogwarts," Elijah spoke, doing his best to not raise his voice. "If you have a problem with that, mate, I suggest you suck it up and get over it!"

Gabriel had lowered his gaze at the mention of their parents, this didn't escape Elijah's notice; he placed his hand on his younger brother's shoulder, and glared at Ron.

Ron's face went a deep shade of red.

Just then there was an almighty high pitched scream. Ainsley was chucking a tantrum and resisting any attempts to be picked up from either Victoria or Snape, even denying any assistance McGonagall or Flitwick could give any attempts to calm the toddler down. Without missing a beat, Elijah closed his book and left the table, Gabriel was right behind him.

"What happened?" Elijah asks Snape and Victoria.

"She just does not want to eat, Eli," said Victoria.

"Again?" Elijah says.

"Yes, again," Snape confirms, sounding a little frustrated.

Elijah taps Victoria on the shoulder and gestures her to move, she didn't object, if anything was out of the chair quick enough for her older brother to sit down and be level with Ainsley.

"Hey Ainsley," he says kindly.

Ainsley was scrunching her face and rubbing it with her clenched hands, but she seemed to have stopped when she heard Elijah, slowly moving her hands away and looking at him.

"Ee-ee," she whimpered, reaching her arms out.

Not caring who was watching, Elijah picked her up out of her highchair and put her on his lap and held her.

"What's the matter, Ainsley?"

"Yeah, aren't you hungry?" Gabriel asks, taking a piece of buttered toast and offering it to Ainsley.

Ainsley stares at the toast and then bats it out of his hand, sending it flying to the floor.

"We tried that," said Victoria.

"So sue me for trying," said Gabriel, with his hands out.

Elijah then catches something, and gently gets Ainsley to look at him.

"She's cutting another tooth," he says.

"How can you tell?" Snape asks, fair question from someone who's never been around children so young.

Elijah shows him, but not without some difficulty, as Ainsley was putting up a fight in allowing Snape to be anywhere near her. She still hadn't fully settled down around her Uncle.

"I am sure Madam Pomfrey would have something to help with the pain," McGonagall offers sympathetically, as she was watching and listening from where she was.

The bell then went off to signal for students to get off to class. Elijah was torn on what he was meant to do.

"Victoria and Gabriel can help me get Ainsley, you get off to your first class," Snape tells him.

Luckily Ainsley allows for Victoria to take her from Elijah, so he was able to leave the Great Hall.

"Let the adventures of the Snape family begin," he mutters under his breath.


	2. It was an Accident

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

Thank you Allen Pitt for your review. Yes, going in the third year. Just not sure how true to the books this will be, if I am to be really honest. The story I am hoping for is simply for fun of sorts. Like most of my stories really. But I will be using the teachers that were for the third year, however, meaning Professor Remus Lupin would like to be seen at some point, just not sure when and how.

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Chapter Two

It was an Accident

Once Ainsley was given something to help subside her discomfort in the gums, she was a little more settled; she allowed Snape to carry her, a small sign to her becoming a little more comfortable and familiar with her Uncle.

Walking on either side of the Potions Master, Gabriel and Victoria managed to keep up.

"What happens now, Uncle?" Do we go with you to the classroom?" Victoria decides to ask.

Snape mentally kicks himself, he had thought of the ways to help ensure Gabriel and Victoria didn't fall behind in their schooling, but he completely neglected to think of how to divide himself between them, (and Ainsley), and being a teacher to the students of Hogwarts.

"For the time being, until I can think of a better solution to how to keep you supervised, you will come with me to my classroom," he decides to say. "It would mean I am going to need you to help in making sure Ainsley doesn't get underfoot."

"May we use our magic if we need to?" Victoria asks politely.

Snape got a small reminder just then on how schooling in Australia was so vastly different compared to that of Hogwarts and, even, Durmstrang.

"Only, and I mean only, if it is really needed," he replies, hoping he was sounding fair.

The children accepted that as a compromise.

Snape's second year students were waiting and chatting until they saw him enter. Even when he was accompanied by three much younger children, Snape was still able to create the wave effect of silence.

"Now that I am here, I trust that you have gotten yourselves ready and organised to begin with the class without further delay?" he voice in his infamous tone, but dampened a little, as he was still holding Ainsley; who was going between taking about the sights of about her and putting her head on Snape's shoulder, rubbing her face.

Snape could see from his view point at his desk that not everyone was prepared.

"Those of who do not get themselves organised to begin will have two minutes to do so, or I shall have to start deducting points and detentions."

This crack of the verbal whip got the remaining disorganised students to fix themselves; it also gave Snape enough time to arrange a safe area for the three young children. Setting them up with a few tasks that, he hoped, suited their age groups, including some of the subjects Gabriel and Victoria were doing within their school, before coming here. Snape even included a colouring-in book for Ainsley, he even made sure he had packed a couple of toys to help amuse.

"Something tells me Uncle Severus is a strict teacher," Gabriel mutters to his older sister when Snape was out of earshot.

"Ya think?" Victoria replies.

Snape addresses his students and sets them to their work.

Amongst the students was Ginny Weasley, who had the same opinion as her brother, Ron and his friend, Harry, when it came to Snape. But she didn't know what to make of the way he was dealing with three children.

She did take note that the older girl was quite close to her own age. She, like many who were at the breakfast that morning, had witnessed the screaming tantrum from the however month old toddler was, and the three older children helping Snape.

"Eyes on your work, Miss Weasley," Snape's voice cuts through.

Ginny was quick to turn back around and get on with her potion making.

Keeping Ainsley occupied in one spot proved to be more challenging than first thought. She got bored with the selected items that were provided, either that, or she just wasn't interested in the first place. She stood up from her spot on the floor and went to toddle off away from her older siblings.

Victoria was too busy assisting Gabriel with a problem he was trying to work out, that neither had noticed straight away.

Snape saw movement from his spot in the classroom; quickly, his glanced over to the corner Gabriel and Victoria were, noticing Ainsley wasn't with them. He swept between the gaps of the work benches and caught the wandering toddler, just before she could get into Ginny Weasley's school bag – thankfully, Ginny also saw the small child and moved her bag out of reach.

Ainsley didn't like this at all, and started struggling to get out of Snape's still outstretched hands, for he was still in the process of picking her up. In doing this shouting out and near arching her back trying to be freed from her Uncle's grasp, Ainsley kicks out, knocking Ginny's cauldron, spilling the entire contents over the work bench and gushing over the edges.

"No!" the redheaded girl exclaims, watching the books she owned and that of her friend's being destroyed by the potion she had been working so hard to make.

Victoria and Gabriel had both heard their sister's shouting and were quick to go over.

"We are so, so sorry!" Victoria stresses, almost terrified of what her Uncle would do, as she'd been watching him during the segment of the class, and was afraid of how he would address her.

But it was Ginny who snips; "Stupid brat!"

"Ainsley is not a brat, you yobbo!" Gabriel snaps glares at Ginny. "It was an accident!"

"An accident that is your fault for not watching the brat!" Ginny argues.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!" Snape speaks up, glowering at Ginny. "While it may be distressing for you to lose your work, Miss Weasley, I strongly suggest you watch your tone." He looks his niece and nephew; "Yes, you ought to have been watching, but that was not entirely on you, I saw what you were doing to be distracted." He turns back to Ginny; "If I hear you speak such a way toward Ainsley again, I will not be pleased. Do I make myself clear?"

Ginny glared at the Potions Master, replying; "Yes, Professor Snape."

Snape, after managing to get a better hold of Ainsley, pulls out his wand and clears the mess; making the books undamaged, as though they hadn't been touched by a single drop. He then herds the three children back to the area he had them at;

"We're sorry," Victoria was visibly upset.

Snape shakes his head; "Not your fault. I hadn't been as watchful, either. You may use magic if it helps keep her for the last fifteen minutes. After this, I'll try and arrange someone to help watch you for the afternoon once lunch is done."

Victoria and Gabriel pull out their wands and starting made an image of stars, bubbles and butterflies, which turned out to be the most useful thing they could come up with to keep Ainsley happy.

Ginny's friend whispers something into her ear; "How can they be using wands at their age? They shouldn't even be here."

Snape, by chance, walked by at this point, and heard this.

"Problem, Miss Blaire?"

Lacy Blaire looks at the Professor, startled.

"Do you know of the reasons why they are here?" he asks the second year student.

Ginny was trying to signal her friend to not answer, but knowing Lacy;

"No, sir, but they still shouldn't be at this school."

"Do tell me why you believe this?" Snape's voice was silky, many eyes on them, including his own nephew and older niece.

"They're too young! They should go back to where they came from!"

"How do you suggest they do that?"

"You're only their Uncle! Their parents should be looking after them, not you!"

This was loud enough for the young children to hear.

"Well, let us hope that you are never in a position where you find both of your parents dead with no one else having to take care of you, Miss Blaire," Snape said, eyes glowering at the Gryffindor student, before moving away to continue supervising the other students and their work.

###

Elijah notices the upset expressions on his siblings' faces when he reached the bottom of the grand staircase that led to the ground floor, where the Great Hall and Great Entrance was, meeting up with them as they were exiting out of the doorway that led to the dungeons.

"What happened?" he asks them.

"There was an accident and we were told that we don't belong here," Gabriel was trying not tear up; Victoria had her arm around the back of his shoulders to try and comfort him.

"Who said that?"

"Some girl with blonde pigtails in Uncle Severus's classroom," said Victoria.

"And the redheaded one called Ainsley a brat, all over an accident," said Gabriel.

"I have spoken to the two girls you are referring to," spoke the voice of their Uncle, who had now just appeared behind Victoria and Gabriel, carrying Ainsley.

They all looked at him, in doing so saw Ginny and Lacy slipping passed, looking rather displeased. Their eyes narrowed on the Snape children for just a moment, before heading to the Great Hall.

"Seems you are not the only one feeling a little out of water," Elijah comments.

"What makes you say that?" Snape asks, between concern and interest.

Elijah hesitates to answer.

"Elijah?"

"It is nothing I cannot handle, Uncle Severus," Elijah then decides to say to him.

"Are you sure?"

Elijah nods. "Yes."

Though he was not entirely convinced, Snape decides to let it go, instead he tells Victoria and Gabriel they are allowed to sit with their older brother if they wish to, or they may sit with him and Ainsley at the staff table in the Great Hall.

"Why can't we just go to the apartment and have lunch there?" Gabriel asks, not feeling like being seen right now.

'The apartment' was what the children decided to call the located area of which Snape stayed whenever he was at Hogwarts. He had managed to get some extensions placed to make it possible for his nieces and nephews to stay, without having to fully relocate all together.

"I have some business to sort out, including finding some extra hands for to help watch you, as I do not believe it would be a good idea to bring Ainsley back in the classroom, unless it is an emergency," Snape says.

"I am not so sure about Ainsley, but maybe, if the teacher doesn't mind, Gabe and Vicky might come with me to Care of Magical Creatures?" Elijah suggests.

Snape was not sure if he wanted to allow such an idea.

"I will give you an answer before the bell goes for class," he says, again wanting to be fair.

When they entered the Great Hall, Gabriel decided that he wanted to stick close to his Uncle, plus help with Ainsley where needed. Victoria goes with Elijah to the Gryffindor table, where she sits right next to him.

"Ignore them, Vicky," Elijah says to Victoria, when he notices his sister looking at Ginny and Lacy, who were whispering to each other and looking at them.

"I'm trying, Eli," she says; "How were you treated in your first two classes?"

"I was mostly ignored by my peers," Elijah answers. "That was until Hermione Granger started talking to me."

"Was she mean?"

Elijah smiled a little. "Nah, she was actually really nice to me."

Victoria sees the glint in her brother's eye. "What happened?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with, Vicky."

Victoria was not convinced. "Eli..." she goes to push.

"You are so like how our Dad was, you know that?" Elijah chuckles when he hears the tone she was using.

"Don't change the subject!" Victoria points a finger at him.

"I just don't wish to talk about it right now, okay?" says Elijah, picking up a large bowl of food and scooping a bit on to his place

Victoria sighs. "Fine! Then why don't we talk of why you just decided to put steak and kidney pie on your plate!"

"What?" Elijah then looked. "Oh! Ew! I thought it was normal mince pie!"

"Mmm, dead horse on a dog's eye," Victoria grins.

"What?"

Elijah and Victoria both look to see Neville Longbottom standing on the opposite side of the table in front of them, unsure on whether to be shocked or not.

"Dead horse on a dog's eye is the Aussie way of saying tomato sauce on a meat pie," Elijah tells him.

"Oh," said Neville.

He still stayed standing.

"Are you trying to impersonate a statue?" Elijah jokes.

Neville takes this as a sign to sit down.

"Listen, I... I'm sorry for what Ron said to you... and Seamus..." he decides to say.

"What did they say?" Victoria asks.

"Why are you speaking to them, Neville?" Ron cuts in before Neville could answer.

"Because I want to," Neville replies.

Ron makes a face at this. "Why would you want to?"

"Wow, not even a full day here and already hated for some crime we have no idea we've even committed," Elijah says sarcastically. "Dad would be rolling in his grave to know his fellow Gryffindors are acting like such drongos."

"No Snape was ever a Gryffindor!" Ron spits. "The only Snape ever here is a Slytherin!"

Elijah raises an eyebrow; "Yet, you're talking to a Snape... in Gryffindor... whose father was in Gryffindor House, starting out a few years before his brother... who is the Slytherin you're begrudging about."

"You're a liar!"

"And you're a jerk!" Victoria speaks.

"Ron, don't you think you need to back off," Harry suggests.

Ron whirls on Harry; "Are you serious? You want me to back off, after what Professor Snape has done to you all these years, even just last week? He threatened to kill Neville's toad!"

"But they aren't Professor Snape!"

"Doesn't make a slight of difference!" Ron stubbornly crosses his arms, as though to make it final.

"Oh, go talk a long walk off a short pier," Elijah grumbles, pushing himself up from his seat, snatching his bag up, losing his appetite. "C'mon, Vicky, we know when we're not welcome."

Victoria quickly follows Elijah out of the Great Hall.

Author's Note: Yobbo is another way of saying idiot.

* * *

I also do not think I intended this chapter to go the way it did, it just happened. Guess I saw Ron to be a bit of a jerk toward the Snape kids, just didn't expect his sister and some friend I made up, (since we only know of Colin Creevey in the books), to be the same. Will they get over themselves and grow up? Hard to say really.


	3. Boggart and Choice Words

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Allen Pitt and Guest – thank you for your reviews. No, not going to be easy, but I am not worried._

* * *

Chapter Three

Boggart and Choice Words

Snape had managed to get the assistance he needed in having Ainsley and Gabriel watched, while he was had another class to teach. Because she was on a break from teaching, Professor McGonagall stepped up.

"If I need to, I can take them both with me to the classroom; you will have no need to worry about Gabriel, or even little Ainsley," she assures, putting her arms out toward Ainsley.

At first Ainsley wasn't sure about this woman, placing her head on Snape's shoulder, assessing with her dark eyes and slightly serious face, until she decided that McGonagall must okay, because she moves, with her own little arms outstretched and was taken out of her Uncle's arms and into McGonagall's.

Because his sister had accepted the Deputy Headmistress almost straight away, Gabriel decided that he ought to like her too. McGonagall leads the children away, while Snape goes in the other direction.

"Your Uncle has told me that you have some work to do?" McGonagall asks to confirm with the seven year old.

Gabriel nods. "He gave me some maths, words and reading to do." He showed her his little shoulder bag that had his items in it. "I did start some of it, but had to stop because we had to watch Ainsley after she got away from us, accidentally causing someone to lose their potion and making them mad at us."

"I am sure whoever was mad would see that it really was an accident," said McGonagall.

Gabriel shakes his head. "I don't think they will. They don't like us for some reason and I don't know what we did wrong."

McGonagall's brows furrow's a little. "How do you mean, Gabriel?"

Gabriel makes an unsure face. "I don't want to get anyone into trouble, Professor."

McGonagall studies the young boy. "If it is important, you must speak up," she tells him.

They reach the staff room, where there were tables and chairs and a cloak closet, Ainsley is placed down on her feet and allowed to wander about to explore, while McGonagall closes the door; turns out there was another occupant in the room.

"Professor Lupin," McGonagall smiles.

A man with premature greying light brown hair and wearing old robes looks up from his books.

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall," he says politely, he then looks at Gabriel; "And a good afternoon to you, too. You must be Gabriel?"

"You know my name?" Gabriel asks with surprise.

Lupin didn't take the smile away from his lips, looking at the boy.

"I used to keep in written tabs with your father," Lupin tells the boy. "Your father was in his fourth year when I entered this school, your Uncle being in the same year with me. He used to really look out for us younger boys, didn't matter which house we were in, either."

Gabriel smiled a little. "He did?"

Lupin nods. "Julius Snape was a very, very fine man. As ambitious as he was, he was a man of real honour."

"Was he really a Gryffindor?"

"He was," McGonagall said proudly. "He was also Prefect and Head Boy when he reached his fifth and seventh years."

Ainsley then starts getting upset; they all look over to see what appeared to be a big noisy cloud.

"Ainsley hates storms! But that's not a real storm. That's a Boggart!" Gabriel exclaims.

"She wouldn't know that at her age!" said Lupin, as he and McGonagall move quickly.

McGonagall grabs the small girl, while Lupin goes in front to face the Boggart. When it sees Lupin, it changes to a flowing orb like object.

"Riddikulus!"

The orb suddenly warped into a white balloon, that goes about the place making raspberry sounds as it deflates; Ainsley thought it was highly amusing and started bursting into laughter, clapping her hands, causing Gabriel to start laughing, too. It was enough to send the Boggart away.

When Gabriel settles down, Lupin is caught off guard by the following words that come out of the young boy's mouth.

"You're a werewolf!"

"What?" Lupin tries to play dumb, McGonagall trying to go along with the charade.

Gabriel explains, unsure as to why this man would want to play dumb; "One of my brother's best friends is a werewolf! So were a couple of our teachers back at home! All of their Boggarts, whenever we had came across one, be in the classroom, or outside of it, were the same as that one. If not the full moon, one was scared of himself being without friends, because of it, that happened to be Eli's friend."

"I can understand why, werewolves are ostracised from the community, we find it hard to keep jobs. I'm lucky to have this one for the time being, because only a small handful knows about it, and if anyone of the parents here learned of me, I would have to resign."

Gabriel was surprised by this; "Not if you were back in Australia! One of my old teachers has been teaching at my old school for many years. We know and we don't care! Eli told us how they made it safe for everyone. The only real question anyone wanted to really know was what Footy team these people barracked for, and if they didn't have a Footy team, regardless of which code, we'd be bugging them until they picked one! Then we would bug them if they picked the wrong one!"

"Sounds like your country has evolved a far bit," McGonagall says, placing Ainsley back down, as the little girl wanted to be put down.

"What does evolved mean?" Gabriel asks.

"It means to move forward, or change. In this case, the change is clearly for the better," Lupin had a small line of disheartenment in his tone.

"Why?"

Before an answer could be given, suddenly; _"TOOT TOOT! CHUGGER! CHUGGER! BIG RED CAR!"_

Ainsley had found one of her toys, and it was happily pressing the buttons, making it sing.

"What on earth?" McGonagall was amazed and amused.

"Haven't you heard of the Wiggles?" Gabriel innocently asks.

"No. Cannot say that I have," says Lupin, imagining how his old schoolmate, and colleague, Severus Snape felt when he first heard this song, and was thoroughly amused by the thought.

###

Over at another part of the school, outside of the castle in fact, Hagrid was had met with the third year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Victoria had been given permission to stay with Elijah, so long as she didn't become too disruptive and behaved.

Hagrid was beaming and waving them forward;

"C'mon yer lot! We have a great day o' learning ter do!" he booms.

"God this place is going to the dogs!" Elijah overhears a white blond haired boy with pale skin peaking to a small group of Slytherins.

"Oh, shut up Malfoy!" Harry scoffs.

"Careful, Potter, don't want the Dementors to come and cause you to faint like a girl again!" Malfoy jeers, and laughs.

"Whereas the Dementors would probably starve if they came anywhere near you, as there is probably nothing them to suck out with their kiss," Elijah decides to chime up. He had heard that the school was being guarded by Dementors on the orders of the Ministry of Magic, due to a serial killer name Sirius Black escaping from the wizarding prison, Azkaban. He had also heard of Potter passing out on the train after an encounter with one of the ghastly things.

"Why would anyone, or anything, want to suck on him?" Victoria speaks further.

She had no idea on the words she just chose would cause a greater affect on the third year Gryffindors, because they were hooting and laughing, including Elijah.

Malfoy stares at these two.

"Who says no one would want to suck me?" he demands. "Are you saying I suck?"

"That's one way of putting it, mate!" Elijah snorts.

"Are yer payin' attention?"

Everyone pays attention to Hagrid, who leads them to a paddock area, where they are met with a herd of hippogriffs; large creatures that had head and front feet of eagles, including wings, and the back end of horses.

"Wow!" said several of the students.

While Harry was being formally introduced to Buckbeak, a handsome grey, Malfoy turns to Elijah and Victoria.

"What business do you have with our Head of House?" he fires. "You're a Gryffindor! Professor Snape would be caught dead with the likes of you lot!"

"Snape is their Uncle!" Ron speaks before either Elijah or Victoria could answer. "He," nodding at Elijah, "told us at breakfast."

"Funny, my father never really mentioned the Professor ever having any siblings," said Malfoy, trying to go over his memory, before shrugging. "Well, if it helps, we could bend the rules, and let you hang with us! Saves you from being bothered by this riff raff!"

Ron was stopped from going over to do something stupid by Hermione.

"He shouldn't have been put in our house in the first place!" Seamus shoots off, seeming to have forgotten that he had joined with the chorus of laughter just moments earlier.

Elijah lowers his head a little and just decides to watch Hagrid and Harry with Buckbeak. Victoria however glares at Seamus;

"Why are you being so mean? What did we do to you?"

Ron decides to say something inappropriate about Snape and why Victoria and Elijah are somehow at fault because of it. Seamus, Dean, Lavender and Parvati all looked to have sided with him.

"So, we're being demonised by association?" Elijah sums up, putting an arm around Victoria and drawing the now visibly upset girl to him. "How mature! No wonder our Dad was happier leaving this place. You're a bunch of closed minded and uneducated drongos."

"Who're you calling uneducated?" Ron flares.

"You see, you ought to be hanging out where you're welcome," Malfoy says, with a smirk. "I'll even forgive you for that little joke you made to me."

"Whoever said it was a joke?" Elijah replies to Malfoy, making a face. "I have no intentions on being friends with anyone who doesn't really wish to be, nor do I wish to be used for someone else's twisted gain." He looks at each of the others who seem to be siding with Ron or Malfoy, depending on which House; "I am not my Uncle, nor are my brother and sisters. If people are going to hold us to ransom because of who we just happen to be related to, then you're all pathetic, and I want no part of it. We're not here because we want to be. We're here because we have to be! Our parents are dead! Your Potions Master out of his own kindness took us in, because we are his brother's children! He didn't have to, but he did!"

"You're calling what he did kindness? That man doesn't have a single ounce of kindness in him!" Ron shouts. "He probably just took you in because he was probably responsible for your parents dying in the first place!"

"Ron!" Hermione snaps. "That's enough!"

This knocked the wind out of the Snape children; Victoria burst into sobs, covering her face, Elijah held her close, glaring at this redheaded boy, his own eyes starting to glisten.

"Come on, Vicky!" he says. "We know when we're not wanted."

He and Victoria start back toward the castle, not even caring if they got in trouble.

* * *

_Author's Note: I can't help it; Ron seems to be a royal jerk in my head, so I guess this is the card I am playing with at the moment, until I can find a way for him to knock it off. I also knew that Elijah wouldn't be mates with Malfoy._


	4. Way Too Far

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_I kind of realised that I messed up in the last chapter with the Hippogriffs, I got my weeks and times mixed up a little._

_Dojoson41: Thank you for your review. Yes, I think she would, too._

* * *

Chapter Four

Way Too Far

The next day didn't go any better, nor the next, or even the day after that. Whenever Snape or any of the other Professors weren't paying attention Elijah, Victoria and Gabriel were given some really rude and nasty comments by some of the students, and it wasn't just from Gryffindor.

It wasn't all too bad, some of the students were actually accepting of the Snape children and would stand up for them whenever they could. But it just felt as though it didn't seem to matter, for the taunting just wouldn't let up, and it was starting to escalate. The only break they were getting was at night, for Elijah didn't have to stay in the Gryffindor Tower, he stayed in the apartment with his Uncle and siblings.

For the duration a good number of weeks, all four Snape children, yes even Ainsley, were targeted. Anyone who attempted to be nice in some way to the children – and there were a good number who truly wanted to be friends with these children, were also vilified. Why? All because of whom their Uncle just happened to be. They didn't just insult them and Snape, they were not too afraid on jabbing at their deceased parents, either.

Everything was taking its toll on the children. Differently, yet the same. Ainsley started to become more clingy to her Uncle, as well as McGonagall and Lupin, (ever since meeting each other, the children had become rather fond of Lupin, and Lupin in turn, and volunteered to help alongside with the Deputy Headmistress), and lashing out. Gabriel was having trouble getting to sleep, and whenever he was able to get any form of shut eye, he was getting nightmares and wetting the bed. Victoria simply just didn't eat, or if she did, it wasn't much, she was teased mercilessly about her weight, even though she was practically a twig, and started believing that maybe they were right, not that she was admitting it. Whereas Elijah was bottling whatever emotions, shoving them down and trying to pretend that whatever was being said and done wasn't having any affect on him, he was getting his schoolwork done, and making time for his siblings and even helping his Uncle.

Snape, McGonagall and even Lupin were suspecting something was going on, but none of the children spoke up. At first they believed it was grief and realisation of their parents no longer being around setting in, as well as the possibility of homesickness, as the rest of the staff of Hogwarts had also noticed something was off, but with no one speaking up...

"It is okay, Uncle!" Elijah tries to convince Snape one night, after hard questioning; "Really!"

Many a time, the children were trying to do how they were raised, try and be nice, without being pushovers. They kept mostly to themselves as a result.

Then one Saturday afternoon, something finally snapped; it all started during breakfast in the Great Hall, when the owls were delivering the morning mail. Elijah, Victoria and Gabriel were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, alone to themselves, when a nice decent sized box, carried by several owls, came and landed right in front of them.

"Woo! I wonder what's inside!" Victoria says with great interest.

The three eagerly open the box, it is Gabriel who retrieves the card from right on top and opens it to read out loud;

"G'day Eli, Vicky, Gabbo and, of course, Little Ainsley; we all got together to put this package together for you. Many things to remind you of us back here, in Australia, where you will always call home. We also ensured something for each of you, that we know you would give you great joy. From the entire gang you call mates!"

He showed his brother and sister, so they could see all the names who signed it.

"Ha ha! Mick! Damo! Izzy!" Elijah grinned, showing Victoria, who beamed at; "Kylie, Rachel, Holly and Nikki! Hey, Gabriel, your friends' names are on here, too!"

They then had a better look inside; to their greatest delight they saw packets of Tim Tams, a couple of jars of vegemite, Cadbury's Freddo Frogs and Caramello Koalas, several packs of Allen's branded lollies, including red frogs, killer pythons and chicos, and a few others of their old favourite foods that was able to be packed;

Victoria's beam turns into something more when she sees Elijah pulling out a mug sized trophy cup that had black and white ribbons tied to the handles, with a plush magpie wearing a striped Guernsey inside it and a small golden plaque at the bottom that read _'Premiership winners of 2010, Collingwood Magpies'_.

"Collingwood won the premiership! _**Yes!**_" Victoria shouted with glee, hands up in the air, almost jumping from her seat.

Many heads turned their way. Ainsley squeals with cheer, putting her own arms up at the sound of her big sister's voice... and throwing some of her porridge into Snape's face.

"That means the Tigers bombed again!" Elijah slumped a little.

"Aww!" says Gabriel. "That'll be right; the insignificant Collingwood supporter gets to brag after her team takes just 20 years of drought, while our boys of yellow and black are yet to get out of theirs after 30!"

"Which was against the Magpies," Victoria reminded gleefully.

Gabriel playfully pokes his tongue out, Victoria returns the same gesture, and Elijah just chuckles at them.

"You two are so much like Mum and Dad!"

"You're just as bad, Eli," says Victoria, still smiling.

Next was a small cricket bat with signatures on it, gifted to Gabriel.

"Oh, wow! They managed to get Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle!"

Next was a very large poster for Elijah, he unrolled it to reveal a tiger high in the air, going for a Sherrin over human players that was clearly of a different team, with a note attached, 'We found a near replica to the poster you've been eyeing to steal from my wall, mate, Damian'. Elijah couldn't wipe the grin from his face.

"They got Ainsley _Possum Magic_ and _Wombat Stew_," Victoria says, showing them the children's books.

"Since she likes her bedtime stories, I'm sure they'll go nicely with her growing collection," said Elijah.

"Is that all?" Victoria then asks, giving the box a bit of a sweeping glance over.

Elijah places his poster aside and goes for a better look, moving the treats aside to see. Right at the bottom, now being uncovered, was a beautifully framed photo containing a petite looking woman with dark brown hair tied up in a tight bun, hazel eyes and high cheekbones, and a tall man standing beside her with clean cut black hair and hooked nose. Both were proudly wearing their uniforms, bearing their medals and ranks.

Attached around the frame in special casings that had glass windows were the very medals, slides and name badges that were shown in the photo. A full written letter was with it.

Elijah read it to Gabriel and Victoria, by the end of it, bittersweet tears were either threatening, or had happened, depending on who it was.

"Let's take all this to the apartment," Elijah suggests.

They put whatever items that were taken out back in, except for the framed photo and medals, because Gabriel virtually clung to it against his chest and yanked away when Elijah went to take it, understanding his younger brother's want to keep a hold of it, the eldest Snape brother didn't push it, just telling him to be careful with it.

They had managed to get a fair distance away from the Great Hall, walking toward the dungeons in the Entrance Hall. They were halfway, when they were suddenly knocked into from behind, and the framed photo was snatched from Gabriel.

"What do we have here?"

They turned to see Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan and several of the others who sought to make life difficult for Snapes.

"No! Don't that's special!" Gabriel cries with anxiousness, trying to get it back.

Ron was looking at the photo, making a face at what he was seeing.

"What on earth are they wearing?"

"Ceremonial dress uniforms," says Victoria, just as anxious.

"Ron!" Harry speaks up rather firmly. "Knock it off! Give it back!"

"Why are you still defending them for?"

"Because I don't like what you're doing! Now give it back!"

Ron goes to give the frame back, but just as Gabriel goes to take it, Ron throws the frame down to the hard floor and stomps his foot several times, smashing the glass and ruining the photo.

"That's what they for having the name Snape!" one of the other students spat.

The three Snape children were beyond mortified. Elijah stared at the ruins, before looking back at Ron, drops the box and punches the redhead hard in the jaw. Causing a whole gang to gang up and attack right on back. Harry and a few others who had either befriended the Snape children, or just didn't agree with the hell they were being placed under, tried to get the gang to back off.

Elijah, unfortunately, gets knocked unconscious, when he was placing himself between the gang and his siblings, trying to keep them shielded from the mob mentality that was happening.

"Eli!" Victoria screams out.

"What in blazes is going on here?" a voice booms, followed by a thunder like sound that causes everyone to stop.

Snape was at the doorway of the Great Hall, holding a now crying Ainsley, because of the thunderclap sound he had made from his wand, with McGonagall, Lupin, Sprout and Flitwick close behind.

Everyone parts away to give a clear view. Snape was quick to go over to where Victoria and Gabriel were both in tears, distraught and scared for their brother, who had a nice gash to his head.

"Eli, wake up!" says Victoria.

"Ee-ee," says Ainsley, who didn't understand why Elijah wasn't responding to her pats.

Snape felt someone taking Ainsley from him, so he could carefully move Elijah from his front to his back, then just as carefully, picks him up from the ground. In doing so Snape sees the destroyed frame and photo; even a couple of the medals had escaped, including one of the name badges.

There no hiding the genuine hurt and anger on the Potion Master's face at the sight of it.

"All students are to go to their Dormitories at once!" McGonagall's stern voice rings through. "We will deal with whoever is responsible later."

Everyone knew to not question this and did as they were told.

"Severus, you take Elijah to the Hospital Wing," McGonagall then speaks to Snape, stepping closer to the spot.

"Are you two hurt?" Lupin asks Victoria and Gabriel, he was the one who took Ainsley.

Both shook their heads.

"Does Remus have your okay to take the children away from here?" McGonagall checks with Snape.

Snape doesn't seem to question this, he just nods and gives a strained "yes" and tells Lupin to take the children to the apartment, before taking Elijah to the Hospital Wing.

Flitwick magicked anything that had fallen out of the box, back into it, and he also repaired the photo and casings, making it as though the damage had never been done.

"I'll help with this," he says in his squeaky voice, catching up with Lupin and the children.

"I don't understand, Minerva," Professor Sprout speaks to her long term friend. "What's been going on?"

"That is what I would like to find out," McGonagall replies, having a feeling she was not going to like what she is yet to discover.

* * *

_Author's Note: I wrote and rewrote this chapter a good few times to try and get it right. I still don't know if I even got the mark or not. Only that I had the visual of Elijah going unconscious after so many weeks of unrelenting hell from the other students, and had to figure how to get it in, as well as how the other children were being affected as well._

_I am still looking on how to get the Snape kids to happier days._


	5. Spilling the Beans

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter Five

Spilling the Beans

"If you are comfortable, can you explain on what has happened?" Lupin asks, after they had reached the apartment and Flitwick had left to carry on with other duties that called from him.

Gabriel and Victoria looked at each other, unsure if they ought to, or not. Lupin could see the anxiety and hurt generating from them.

"I am not going to push you to talking to me, however I do suggest that you do tell your Uncle," Lupin tells them between kind and firm. "For the time being, you can help me with your baby sister, as I have a feeling she's going to need a complete change."

His nose wrinkled a little when he said this, for he could smell something a little too obvious. Ainsley just looks at Lupin with her innocent brown eyes, grins and pats her hands on his cheeks.

"You are a real charmer, you know that, right?" he says to the toddler.

It was a little over an hour before Snape enters the apartment. Lupin had kept the children occupied with a game of cards in the living area around the coffee table, with Ainsley on a pillow right beside them, fast asleep.

"How is Elijah?" Lupin asks.

"Still unconscious, but stable," Snape answers, his voice a little shaken. "Madam Pomfrey isn't sure when he will wake up."

"If you need me to stay with the children a little longer?" Lupin goes to offer.

Snape almost not believing himself when he speaks the next lot of words to the man he despised once upon a time, and still wasn't at all sure, in spite of his nieces and nephews had grown to really like Lupin, and willing to set aside that dislike for now;

"I may need to take that offer, if you are not too busy?"

"Your brother was a friend to me, Severus; I don't think I can just step away right now, unless you gave me the word to. Especially after what I have been told by your young niece and nephew on what has been going on," said Lupin in return. "Only partly, though, not much else."

Snape turns his head to Victoria and Gabriel with interest.

"We have been bullied and attacked!" Victoria starts off; "It started off with a few of Elijah's classmates saying some pretty nasty stuff about you, Uncle Severus, and to us and even went as far as blaming our parents deaths on you." She knew there was no way they could keep a hold of this anymore. Doing her very best to not show tears again, Victoria spilled as much as she could, as did Gabriel, of everything, from the taunts toward Ainsley, to the lead up to the smashing of the photo frame and Elijah being knocked out cold.

"Who exactly would do this?" Lupin asks.

"It wasn't Potter, was it?" says Snape. This did earn him a slight frown from Lupin.

"No, Harry is actually one of the few who has done his best to be nice to us, even stuck up for us a few times, including just before Elijah got knocked out, along with Neville, Hermione and a good number of others, including Fred and George Weasley and Draco Malfoy. They have stepped in and tried to get others to back off from us, including most of the Slytherins, I guess it's because of you being their Head of House, and they ignored Elijah being in Gryffindor, but not all of them.

"The ones who had been giving a hard time were..."

"It does explain as to why they would speak up for certain people and not toward others," Lupin explains after the names were given on who was good and who wasn't.

"Why didn't you come to me when this was going on?" Snape asks them.

"We thought we would be in trouble and be made out to be liars, and no one believing us," said Victoria, now crying.

If he didn't feel his heart sink before, he certainly was now, Snape pulls his niece to him, and Victoria weeps into her Uncle's shoulder, while he rubs her back.

"We felt we didn't belong here," Gabriel added miserably.

Both Snape and Lupin shake their heads at this, but it is Lupin who tells them; "The people who made you feel like you didn't belong are wrong. You have nothing to be ashamed about in regards to who you are related to."

"But we've been told Uncle Severus only did it out of obligation and he didn't really care!"

Snape looks firmly at his young nephew at this. "Part of that would be true, I was obligated. However that latter part of that accusation is far from the truth of it. I do very much care for you, and if I didn't want to look after my own brother's children, you wouldn't be here, it is that simple."

"Then why were people saying you didn't?"

Lupin speaks before Snape could; "People can be cruel. Granted your Uncle's methods are rather unorthodox, and come off as unpleasant – sorry, Severus, it had to be said – but it does not give others an excuse to use that against you, just because you're associated with him."

Snape did feel that part of this was directed at him as well, but didn't react to such. Instead he tells Gabriel and Victoria that he would do what he can to sort the mess out, now that everything was out of the bag.

###

"Never in all my years as a Professor to this school had I been so disgusted," McGonagall's voice was matching her expression of fury.

She was addressing the school in the Great Hall, after Dumbledore had called for an all school meeting, save for Snape who was in the Hospital Wing with the still unconscious Elijah, and the Headmaster himself, as he had a fair number of letters to write up to send to parents of what their children had been up to – not an enjoyable task to bear.

Victoria, Gabriel and Ainsley were sitting with the staff of Hogwarts.

"If it were up to me, there would have been more than detentions, but since that we don't know of how far the punishment is to fit the crimes of the individuals involved, and the final word comes from the Headmaster, detentions will have to do for the time being," she continues. "Because of the inexcusable and unjustified actions of several students, a boy is in a coma. Just as disgraceful is knowing that the same individuals are responsible for causing disharmony to the same boy's siblings. Who in their right mind ever believes it to be okay to force a toddler to eat something that could have made her seriously sick, or worse? And forcing her brother to watch, and causing further humiliation by doing other unsavoury actions that I dare not mention! That is only just the tip of the iceberg."

The reactions of those who weren't responsible were dropping jaws with sheer disbelief and appal, some even looking pointedly at those who were guilty.

"Your parents and guardians are all to be informed, the owls would all have started to fly now and reach your homes by the morning. I would suggest for many to pack ear muffs tomorrow and perhaps the next few days," McGonagall continued, with her eyes going to the very people who've been ousted by the Snape children, but had not been named publicly as of yet.

"To those who've done their best to stop the insanity over these number of weeks, thank you and know you can hold your heads up high doing what is right. I just wish you had of spoken up before this morning's events had happened, for it may have helped in ensuring it didn't happen in the first place."

She sees a hand going up;

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Please, Professor, will Elijah be alright?"

It did not escape her, (or anyone else's), notice to see Ron Weasley was not sitting anywhere near Hermione Granger, or even Harry Potter. He was with the group of Gryffindors who'd been part of the group who couldn't stop their crimes toward Professor Snape's family, and their own peers, just based on the visual within the Great Hall. It was very, very clear on who wanted nothing to do with the despicable lot. It was the same with each of the other Houses; save for Slytherin House, where there had only been a small handful who had been caught up in the mob mentality, while the rest had done their best to shield their Head of House's nieces and nephews, even standing with the likes of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom to stop their schoolmates.

"As far as we know, he will eventually wake up," said the Deputy Headmistress, it was all she was telling on the matter of Elijah's condition. "We can sincerely hope that something like this does not happen again. In the meanwhile the staff and I will be dealing with those who are to be held accountable."

* * *

_Author's Note: Who knew trying to address an entire school and make it K+ worthy would be difficult?_

_Also to having Lupin and Snape getting along, I can't help it. As well as manipulating Snape's character a little. I guess I wanted to shed a different light on the Potions Master, plus show Slytherins aren't all as bad as their creator has made them out to be._

_Hope this is okay. Let me know what you think, maybe spring forth some ideas or theories you might have on how this might turn out._


	6. Requests

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter Six

Requests

"Any change?"

Snape glances over to see Lupin near the curtains that were around the bed Elijah was lying upon.

"It's been three days, other than breathing, he hasn't changed," he tells his colleague. "Madam Pomfrey is afraid to move him in case of the risk of further damage, which is why he hasn't been transferred to St Mungo's."

Whenever Snape had no other obligations, he was beside Elijah's bed. Sometimes he would have the children with him, in hopes that having their presence might help the thirteen year old come out of his coma.

"Where are Victoria, Gabriel and Ainsley?"

"Fred and George Weasley felt obligated to step up and prove that just because their younger siblings were part of the masses against your family, they were part of the side that genuinely liked and stood up for them. They even went as far as writing to their parents, as well as Percy Weasley, to explain their roles. You should have heard the Howlers from not just their mother, but who knew their own father could be just as terrifying with his placid nature."

"Is that why I saw the terrified looks on Mr and Miss Weasley during their classes?"

"Perhaps along with a few others who also received Howlers throughout Sunday and into yesterday morning," says Lupin, now gesturing to the chair beside Snape.

Snape gives a slight nod to indicate it was fine for Lupin to sit down.

"Julius would have been furious if he were still alive," Snape then mentions, looking at Elijah. "He adored his children, as did Katherine, obviously. He left because he didn't feel that being in such a culture as ours was the type of lifestyle he wanted for his children, if he were to ever be a father. I remember when I first heard the news of Elijah being born; I knew that Julius was nothing like the man who liked nothing more than to use his fists to get us to fall into line.

"Then when Victoria came along," a hint of a subconscious smile could be seen, "She was his Princess. The last time I had seen her, before now, she was trying to convince a heavily pregnant Katherine that Sparkles was a perfectly good name to give the baby."

"Sparkles?" Lupin laughs.

"Not sure if Gabriel knows of that story. I lost contact with Julius just weeks after Gabriel was born."

"What happened?"

"Something where one wished they simply had more time to sort out whatever has been going on, and just talk," the regret was lined within Snape's voice.

There was a moment of silence.

Lupin breaks it; "For what it's worth, stepping up for your nieces and nephews, even more after what has happened, Julius would be proud of you."

"You think so?"

"I knew your brother, too, remember? While he lost contact with you, he was able to keep in contact with me. Last letter he sent to me was two weeks before learning of what happened to him and Katherine. He told me that he was starting to organise a trip for the family to come to the UK, be here for Christmas this year, in the hopes to make amends with you. Especially after he learned there was a chance posting to here. He may not have much liked the culture of our world, with the heavy prejudice, but I guess it was still home and he wanted to reconnect with the brother he was missing."

The surprise was clearly written on Snape's face when he heard this.

"I wish I had of known before now," he then admits.

"I was meant to say something, but you were pretty adamant on protesting Dumbledore's choice of hiring me, and not long after that you were heading to Australia to get the children, I think both gotten busy, it subsequently slipped my mind without meaning to," said Lupin.

"I suppose at the time I had no reason to want a conversation with you," Snape had an apologetic air to his tone.

Lupin accepted it as the apology it was meant to be.

"What are you planning to do now?" he then asks the Potions Master.

Snape shakes his head; "I don't know. I didn't think that my own family would be attacked in such a manner. Learning and now knowing that the reason given was because I am their Uncle... I don't even think your old friend, Potter, would have gone that far."

"No, he wouldn't have," Lupin agrees.

"I was a little surprised to know that his own son stepped in to defend Elijah and the others, choosing them over the Weasley boy."

"Harry has a good heart, Severus. Perhaps it is a sign to let go of your own old prejudice?"

"Perhaps..."

A small sound was then heard by the both of them.

Movement from Elijah's hand was what got the two men to sit up. Snape moved closer.

"Eli?" he took a hold of his nephew's hand and placed his other hand softly on the boy's forehead.

Elijah's hand squeezed Snape's hand for a moment; another soft groan like sound escaping, with his face scrunching up, before his eyelids blinked open. He saw his Uncle's concerned, yet relieved face.

"What?" Elijah goes to sit up, but was promptly stopped.

""No, not too fast, you've been in a sort of coma for the last few days," Snape tells him gently.

Madam Pomfrey, who was retrieved by Lupin, entered the area.

"Do you know your name and your birthday?" she asks the boy.

Elijah frowns a little at this, but he answers; "Elijah Adam Snape and I was born on the eleventh of December 1996 to Julius Romulus and Katherine Anne Snape."

"Julius Romulus? Does that mean your middle name is...?" Lupin mouthed to Snape.

"No my middle name is not Remus!" Snape returns as quickly.

Madam Pomfrey kept asking questions and examining Elijah as she did. It was clear just from Elijah's answers and any results from the Nurse's findings; the event had rattled the poor boy.

"I don't want to be here anymore, Uncle. I am so, so sorry, I know this is where you work, but..."

Snape places a hand on his nephew's shoulder; "I understand. You siblings have also expressed the same desire to leave. Even with those who have sort to make sure that they understood that not all had the same vindictiveness as the peers who've caused you so much trouble, they still have no wish to stay."

"But we cannot ask you to leave because of us. If we are to stay, then we stay."

Elijah was pretty earnest with his words.

"You four are my responsibility, with it comes your safety," said Snape. "I cannot make any promises, but I will see what can be done."

It was good enough for Elijah to accept.

###

"Are you sure you want to be doing this, Severus?" Dumbledore asks, when he fully read the parchment he was given.

"I must do what is best for my family," Snape answers simply and in a matter-of-factly voice.

"What if I were to refuse your request? You made a promise to me. Why would you turn your back on that? Especially when Elijah needs to learn that not everyone is going to be on his side and Victoria is yet to receive her letter, now that her name is down for enrolment. Not to mention the trouble of having to find a new Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House."

Snape was not at all impressed; "With all due respect, Dumbledore, you know that I have every right to step away, and do what I see is the right choice. To try and use emotional blackmail is a little below you, don't you think? You are always preaching about making sure we do the right thing, even if it is not an easy path, bit of a hypocrite if you're going to go back on your own words of wisdom when I decide to take that said advice and put it to use."

Dumbledore stares at Snape with his brilliant piercing blue eyes through his half-moon spectacles, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Alright, Severus," he says; "I will grant your request. You will have your leave of absence set for the Christmas holidays to give enough time to make arrangements, before fully retiring at the end of the school year for Hogwarts."

Snape gives a courteous bow of the head; "Thank you, Headmaster."

* * *

_Author's Note: Did mention I may not be going true to the books. But I still hope that you are enjoying the story. I think after this chapter things will turn to a lighter mood. Just took me a bit to work it out._


	7. Surprise

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

_Thank you Vadimmon and Mee for your reviews. Glad you are enjoying the story. Along with the rest of you readers. Thank you for your patience for this next chapter._

* * *

Chapter Seven

Surprise

Elijah didn't leave the hospital wing until Madam Pomfrey was one hundred percent satisfied that he was well enough, especially with the concern to the injury he sustained to the head. So two days after he woke up Elijah was allowed to leave, much to his pleasure, as he was getting bored with looking at the same walls. At least he was able to occupy the time with any schoolwork he wanted to catch up on and read the many letters that he had receiving during the period of when he was knocked out, and a little afterwards, when the news spread of his waking up.

Many of the letters were of the ones who stood up for him and his siblings, some were even from his old friends in Australia, who no doubt at been told of the troubles from Snape, who felt that they ought to know on what exactly had been going on with their mate.

"Glad you're finally out, Eli," says Victoria, walking beside him.

"Me, too," Elijah returns, with a small smile. "Where are Uncle Severus, Gabriel and Ainsley?"

"They're in the Great Hall, being that it is breakfast time."

"I guess we'll have to head on down ourselves."

"I know Uncle would be happy to see that you're out, he was going to come and see you before attending to class, after seeing to Ainsley and Gabbo," Victoria tells him.

Elijah understood that Snape had to balance between hospital visits and teaching, as well as tending to his siblings.

When the two siblings reached the Great Hall;

"There they are!" spoke a voice that they hadn't heard in a good long while, and were stunned to hear once more.

Just as stunned to actually see the person who owned the voice moving right toward them, plus the company he was with.

"Damian?"

Damian, who was athletically built and tanned in skin, grinned, standing in front of Elijah and Victoria.

"We were going to surprise you with a visit to the sick bay, or hospital wing as this lot call it," he says.

"Did you know about this?" Elijah asks Victoria.

"No!" Victoria had honesty in her tone, but wasn't hiding her grin at the nice surprise.

Along with Damian was Michael, who was a head taller than him and Elijah, sporting sandy blonde hair and freckles across the face, and Isobel, with dark hair and dark eyes, and slightly darker skin to Damian's tan.

"When did you get here?"

"About thirty minutes ago," Michael says ever so casually.

"Your Uncle made sure we got in okay," Isobel adds, indicating to Snape, who was watching from his position at the staff table.

Elijah couldn't really see it, but he could tell there was a small smile on Snape's lips.

"Also, Kylie and the others made sure that I sent their hellos," Michael tells Victoria.

"Cool," says Victoria, still smiling.

"How long are you hear for?" Elijah asks, as they headed over to the Gryffindor table to sit down.

"Just for the week," said Damian, pointing toward the enchanted ceiling.

Elijah followed and understood immediately.

"But we'll be here to help Gabriel celebrate his eighth birthday this weekend," says Isobel. "We decided because of the hell you've had whilst being here, we are going to help lighten the mood for as long as we can, until you come to Australia for the Christmas holidays."

The Snape children all knew of the plans to travel back to their old home country for Christmas – what they didn't know was the other part of their Uncle's plan, he was keeping that as a sort of surprise, and didn't wish to reveal until he was certain it can be made.

Up at the staff table, Snape was satisfied that to see his nephew was up and about, and that he was with people he knew. He eyed those who have caused trouble, and could see the displeasure of seeing the small group now surrounding Elijah and Victoria, just as evident when other students decided to go over and introduce themselves.

"Let us hope that no more trouble arises," he hears Lupin, who was also observing.

"Would anyone be stupid enough to try and cause trouble again?"

"Unfortunately," Lupin grimaced a little, discreetly nodding over to Ron Weasley.

The redheaded boy was scowling at his old friends Harry and Hermione, because they both decided to be among the few who wanted to say hello to Elijah's friends and to talk to Elijah to get a verbal update on how he was feeling.

"Uncle Severus," Gabriel speaks up.

"Yes?" Snape asks, stopping Ainsley from getting a hold of a butter knife by taking his niece's hand with one hand, and moving the item out of reach. Ainsley gave him a slightly steely look, as if what he did was uncalled for. At first, Snape though she was going to cause a riot, but instead she just grins and wrinkles her nose.

"Can I sit in your class today? There is some work that I am having trouble with, and I'd like you to help me, if that is okay?"

"What are you having trouble with?"

"You gave me a sheet asking about a variety of potions and what goes in them, I'm getting confused with which stuff goes with which potion," Gabriel explains.

Snape remembers the worksheet he had given, he wanted to test his nephew's memory, as he had some dealings with the theory basis of potions, after learning students in Australia start theory in their version of second year, which many are between the ages six and seven, leading them into the practical side their version of fifth year, which is the age Victoria is in now, the Potions Master felt he ought to honour the system of the children's old school and continue on in guiding his niece and nephew with their according year. Because of Gabriel approaching the age of eight, this would have had him in third year, or 'grade three' as the Snape children phrase it. This also meant that Snape was giving Victoria the most simple and basic easy to do potions to try out.

"In between supervising the class, I believe I may be able to give you assistance," Snape answers.

Gabriel smiles; "Thank you."

The bell goes off to signal all who needed to get to class to get a move on.

"Do you have to get to class as well?" Isobel asks Elijah.

"Madam Pomfrey did tell me that if I am up to going straight to classes she doesn't see the problem," Elijah answers. "I just don't have my bag; it is back at the apartment."

"You can quickly go to the apartment and retrieve it, as it's close to the classroom," Snape offers, as he happened to be walking past with Gabriel and Ainsley in tow.

Ainsley then decided that she didn't want to be carried anymore and started protesting, so Snape places her on the floor, to which she immediately toddles on off, straight to an unsuspecting Mrs Norris the cat, who was suddenly grabbed by the ambitious 19 month old with the attempts to try and pick the cat up.

"Kitty!" Ainsley squeals with glee.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing with my cat?"

Mr Filch, the caretaker to the school, as now right in front of Ainsley, with his unpleasant expression. Mrs Norris was struggling to get away, her tail starting to move side to side fiercely and extended her claws...

Ainsley let out a cry, as Mrs Norris sped way.

"You need to put a leach on that child, Severus!" Mr Filch snaps at the Potions Master, who had reached within seconds of the incident and scooping his niece up.

"And you really need to start developing some better empathy, Argus. Ainsley didn't mean any harm to your cat," Snape replies with patience, checking over Ainsley, seeing the scratch on her arm.

"Either you teach the brat to stay away from Mrs Norris, or she'll regret it!"

"Will people stop calling my sister a brat?" Gabriel pipes up.

"Threaten my niece again, or cause her harm, and you'll be the one regretting it," Snape tells Filch silkily. "I've had enough of this school causing grief to my family, and those were from students attending here, and they got whatever could be given within policy of the school. What makes you think you, a fellow staff member of sorts and an adult, believe such policies apply to you?"

Filch saw the dangerous glint in Snape's eye. "Fine. I will do what I can to keep my cat away from the brat, if you do the same in return."

Gabriel stamps Filch on the foot; causing the caretaker to yelp and jump back.

"Call my sister a brat again and I'll punch you!"

"Gabriel that is enough!" Snape warns, placing his free hand on the boy's shoulder and pulling him away from Filch. He sees Elijah, Victoria and Elijah's friends exiting out near them; "Go with your brother and sister, I'll see you in the dungeons."

Gabriel obeys.

"Ought to give that boy a good flogging for showing such disrespect!" Filch sneers, pointing at Gabriel.

"I will do no such thing, Argus," said Snape. "Now, I must get a move on. I am sure you have your own matters to get on with."

He walks away before Filch could speak any more.

###

"What happened to Ainsley?" Hermione asks noticing the bandage on the toddler's arm, during the class.

"That's what you get for harassing an animal, perhaps Scabbers ought to take a leaf out of Mrs Norris's book and bite the hell out of Crookshanks," Ron says in a grumbled tone.

This earned him a glare from Hermione and Harry.

"Just remember you are lucky you haven't been ousted as the one who sent Eli into a coma, Ron, only being part of the fray," Harry says in undertone. "Just as lucky you're assigned to be at this workbench with us, otherwise you wouldn't be near us."

Ron felt and looked majorly insulted by this statement; "What happened to you, Harry? Snape has been nothing but nasty to you, he was Neville's biggest fear not too long ago; he always fawned over Malfoy and the other Slytherins. But you're being all chummy with his family."

"That is because they are not Professor Snape, Ron. I have no need to be an idiot toward someone because they're associated with someone, that is not who I am. The only way I have animosity toward people is if they give me reasons to, like Voldemort for example," Harry didn't hold back, nor give any sympathy to the shudder Ron displayed at the sound of the name that caused a lot of distress to people.

"But Snape gave you hell because of your Dad!"

"I think he kind of changed his tune a little when he found out I was one of the ones who actually tried to stop you and your group from bothering Elijah and his brother and sisters," Harry spoke a little louder than he intended, but didn't seem to have noticed. "You are the one who smashed the photo frame, and you were the one who sent that knock out spell on Elijah."

"You have no proof of that!"

"I overheard you talking to Seamus this morning on how you wished Elijah didn't recover from the spell you learned especially to cast on any of the Snapes who happened to be in the way. You were willing to even cast it on Ainsley if she had of been with them that day. What do you have against a baby?"

"Yes, I'd like to know the answer to that, too."

Snape was now standing in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Pink was starting to show on Ron's neck and ears, words stuck in his throat.

"I had wondered how long it would take for the culprit of the final blow to be revealed," spoke the Potions Master.

"Seriously, what have you got against our friends?" Michael asks, who was overhearing, like the rest of the classroom.

Ron couldn't bring the words out, instead looked away, rather red faced.

"10 points from Gryffindor and I'll see you after class to receive your detention. I will also inform the Headmaster and your Head of House," said Snape, he goes to move away, but stops and looks at Harry. "Five points to Gryffindor; please continue with your efforts."

That was the first time Snape had really ever awarded Gryffindor House points, even with Elijah being one of the gold and red colours. Stun was rife throughout the classroom, and eventually, by the end of the day, the entire school was hearing of what happened.

Was it actually possible that Professor Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, had truly changed?

* * *

_Author's Note: Yes, Ron, what the heck is wrong with you?_

_Snape isn't such a moron after all, : - )_


	8. A Reminding Gift

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter Eight

A Reminding Gift

Gabriel woke up and stretched out for a moment, before clambering out of his bed. It was now Saturday, 30 October; his birthday. He walked out of his room and into the living area of the apartment to see the place decorated with streamers and balloons, with his siblings, Uncle and Elijah's friends gathered about all saying _"happy birthday"_ as loud as they could muster. Except Ainsley, being a little too preoccupied with a loose balloon to take too much notice.

The grin was unmistakeable.

"I suggest you hurry and get dressed, so we can get to breakfast," Snape tells his now eight year old nephew.

"Okay," Gabriel agrees and hurries to do what he was told to do.

Snape waits a few seconds before turning to Elijah and his three friends. "Is everything ready?"

"Just about," said Damian, giving the thumbs up. "Fred and George are in charge of the small team who're putting the finishing touches on. Eli and I will go back out to make sure that it's set up right."

Snape wasn't sure whether to be worried or satisfied by the news of the Weasley twins being in charge of anything that could create too much mischief.

"Take Ainsley and Victoria with you and make sure they don't do anything that might cause people to lose their hair, or fingers to fall off!"

This earned a few laughs, but also the assured words from the young teens.

By the time Gabriel was fully dressed and back out of his room, he saw only his Uncle Severus in the area.

"Where are the others?"

"I told them to go ahead and we will catch up," says Snape.

He allowed Gabriel to walk ahead of him.

If Gabriel thought the balloons and streamers in the apartment was cool, then that would mean the decorations in the Great Hall was extra awesome. His face lit up.

"Your brother and sister wanted to do something extra special for you, managing to rope a fair number of the school, including the staff, into creating today," Snape tells him, with a small smile.

"This is only a snippet," said Elijah, now walking with them.

"Where is Ainsley?" Snape asks.

"Being very well guarded," Elijah points toward his House table, where Snape could see Ainsley being held in Isobel's lap, nearly full on surrounded and entertained by 'the good guys' as Gabriel has decided to label the students who befriended the Snape children and defend them. Especially after news broke on how there was a threat toward the toddler, and no one was sure if that was serious or not.

Gabriel was greeted with pats on the back and many happy birthdays.

"Pancakes!" the birthday boy exclaims with glee when he saw what was being served.

Breakfast was offerings of pancakes, scones (both of which were with choices whipped cream, honey, jam or maple syrup), hash browns, sausages, bacon, eggs in the choice of either sunny side up or scrambled, and toast with various choice spreads that were typically Australian, such as vegemite and nutella. Of course marmalade and jam were on the menu.

The rarity of the pancakes and scones was proving popular, as majority of those who were in the Great Hall for breakfast were helping themselves; as soon as a plate was emptied, more appeared.

"You may go with Elijah and sit at the Gryffindor table, if you like," Snape tells Gabriel, when they reach the small dais, where the staff table was. "Or you can sit with me."

Gabriel catches Elijah mouthing for him to go with their Uncle. Unsure as to why, but figuring that it might be because Elijah might think it would be polite to let their Uncle have breakfast with his nephew on his own birthday, Gabriel chooses Snape.

Unsurprising Gabriel helped himself to some of the pancakes, topped with his favourite of honey.

"Happy birthday, Gabbo," said Victoria, coming over after a few moments with Damian and placed a couple of wrapped presents in front of Gabriel.

"Thank you," says Gabriel, immediately unwrapping the first one, which turned out to being _'The Chronicles of Narnia'_ by C. S. Lewis. "Is this all seven?" he asks Victoria.

"All seven of the Narnia series in one book," Victoria confirms; "Damian found it by chance when he was trying to figure out what to put in his own library collection."

"Thanks Damo," said Gabriel, allowing Snape to take the book so he could have a squiz at it for himself.

"Hey, no probs, we remembered you were wanting your own copy of _'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'_, just found one better," said Damian, holding his hand out for a high five from Gabriel, which was well received.

"Curious to know what this Muggle's perception of a witch would be," Snape says, reading the list of the titles just within the first pages. "And isn't this a little advanced for you?"

"I just want to find books that can be a little more interesting to read, rather than those picture books I'm given at the moment. Not that they're bad books, or anything!" Gabriel tells him, a little worried about hurting his Uncle's feelings, so added the last bit with a little more emphasis then he perhaps intended.

Snape didn't see the need for it, instead admired his nephew's tenacity to push himself a little. "I will keep that in mind when thinking of ways to help with your learning," he says, placing the book near Gabriel's still unwrapped gift.

Gabriel was quick to open it; he was immediately snorting into giggles, holding up each shirt to see what they had. The first was a green shirt with Yoda from _Star Wars_ on it, with the words, _'No! Try, not. Do, or do not. There is no try; Master Yoda'_; the second was a simple blue with _'Pretty Fly for a Jedi'_ and the last was black with a silhouette of Vader's helmet with, _'Sith Happens'_.

Snape learned enough of _Star Wars_ to know the characters and varying quotes, but was still new to the mixed world his nieces and nephews have been raised with, as Snape had near cut himself off from almost anything Muggle related, part by choice, part by other reasons he didn't wish to be shared if can help it, but knows that there are those who know, as it's almost a worst kept secret.

"Not sure if that last one is really appropriate," he does say looking at the last shirt.

"Mum and Dad would have seen the funny side to it," says Victoria without a doubt.

"Still, I am neither, so for the time being, that particular one may only be worn within the apartment," Snape maintains his stance on the matter. He looks at Gabriel. "It is not as though you are forbidden to wear it, just limited for now."

"Where is the harm in the shirt?" Lupin had been watching, and wasn't sure what the fuss was over. But then, he knew less about _Star Wars_ than Snape did.

"Rearrange the first word, 'Sith', and you'll understand why I don't think it is appropriate," Snape explains in a low tone so the kids didn't hear him.

Lupin was quick to understand where Snape was coming from, and spoke nothing more about it, feeling that it really wasn't his place to question the guardian of the children. Plus, Gabriel seemed to accept his Uncle's decision, placing his new shirts and book carefully aside to finish his breakfast, while Victoria and Damian went back to the Gryffindor table to finish theirs.

As the breakfast disappears from the tables, this was the cue for Elijah and the Weasley twins to approach the dais, and Dumbledore to stand up from his usual position at the staff table within the Great Hall.

Seeing the Headmaster had all fall silent in order to listen to him speak;

"Today, there is going to be a treat for some of the students of this school. I will allow Elijah Snape and Fred and George Weasley to explain."

"Thank you, Professor," Elijah starts; "Invitations would have been sent out to some of you to come along and help celebrate my brother's birthday." Gabriel perked up a little at this; "While we will not reveal too much, as it is a surprise for Gabriel, we would like for those who were given invites to please make their way to the Quidditch grounds, where we can reveal a little more of what has been planned."

"This is an invite only event," Fred speaks up. "George and I, with a couple of others, will be posted at the entries of the Quidditch grounds checking for the specially coloured parchments we gave out. If you do not have this, you will not be allowed access."

Some of the students were about to start protesting, only for Snape, (with the nod from Dumbledore), to stand up;

"Before anyone tries to protest against what has been announced by Mr Weasley, please be aware that this even was given the permission to go ahead by myself and the Headmaster. In case some have seemed to have forgotten, yes I am seeing the certain ones who are not pleased by the invite only request are the very ones who hadn't been so accommodating to my nieces and nephews. We make no apology on ensuring that today is not spoiled by the disgruntled few who would only seek to cause discord."

McGonagall then stands up to add; "If any student who hadn't been invited tries to cause a ruckus and disarray, they will be put into immediate detention."

That put a stop to any who were about to, or thinking of, arguing.

With this now settled, everyone in the Great Hall was able to leave.

"Walk with me, I've got something to show you, before we make our way to the Quidditch grounds," Severus says to Gabriel. "Plus it will allow you to put your presents away."

As much as Gabriel wanted to head out, he was curious to what his Uncle wanted to show him, and he did need to place his new book and shirts away.

Once in the apartment, Gabriel put his things in his room on his bed and hurried back out; Snape was sitting on the couch and waiting for him to return. A smooth wooden box with beautifully carved and painted big cats on it sat on the coffee table; it wasn't overly big, nor was it small, fitting almost perfectly in the middle it.

"I am not sure how much you, or your siblings, would have been told of your father's life before his move to Australia to join your mother in her home country, however, he left this behind in our old home in Cokeworth," he tells his nephew.

Gabriel goes over and kneels beside the table, looking at the box.

"We knew that you and Dad didn't always have a lot of nice things growing up, because Grandpa was mean or something. Dad didn't say too much to me, not sure if he's said more to Eli or Vicky being older than me," he says to Snape, tracing the delicately placed lines of a lion's mane. "We all knew how much Dad loved big cats, though, there would be all sorts of ornaments and stuff of cheetahs, tigers, and you name it, right beside Mum's collection of various birds. All of them are in storage now, along with much other stuff that was theirs when they were alive."

Snape listens and nods; "I have spoken to your brother not long after he regained consciousness," he goes to explain. "Turns out he wasn't really told of much either of what we went through as boys growing up under the iron fist that was our father. Our mother gave up her magic to be with our father, we never really understood why, only that he was a controlling person who had to know her whereabouts and was very paranoid. You can imagine what it was like when we each received our letters to join this school.

"Your father got his before me, of course, being three years older than me; our father was furious and was determined to not allow any son of his to do anything to do with magic. He couldn't find an ounce of respect for Julius when he learned that he joined the Military, a predominate Muggle occupation, at least that is how it is believed to be here, I don't know how it is for Australia, or any other country."

"But, he got to go here, so did you."

"We did," Snape validates. "Our mother wrote to Dumbledore behind our father's back pleading for help. The fury from our father was not pleasant, but we were able to go, because we had the lifeline that was the Headmaster to ensure we were able."

"What does this box have to do with Dad and you?" Gabriel didn't hide his confusion.

"Your Dad made it with his own hands, contrary to many popular beliefs on what I do favour, most of which are all rumours; I shared the same passion for big cats as Julius once did. I was perhaps a little more reserved, being in the Slytherin House, you had to be a little careful on what you admitted to favouring, especially lions, if you understand where I am coming from," Gabriel nods to show that he did understand, before Snape continued; "Your father had a natural talent with woodwork."

"That I do remember!" Gabriel grins. "He made all sorts of stuff."

Snape smiles at this. "He made it in his second year at this school, so he was twelve years old."

"Whoa! Elijah is thirteen! I didn't know Dad was _that_ good!"

"Neither did your brother and sister when I was talking to them."

"Why are you showing me this, Uncle?"

"Because I feel that it ought to be passed on to you."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why not give it to Elijah?"

"Because of what is inside the box. Elijah has seen it, and told me who I ought to give it to when I explained how I wished for one of you four to have it."

At this, Gabriel carefully placed his hands on each side of the smoothness of the wood, and just as careful, lifted the lid. The inside was lined with cool to touch satin that was the colour of burgundy, with silver spiral line patterning around the edging, and within the well of the box laid a single hand crafted wooden F-111C aircraft, complete with details.

"Julius made that when he graduated from rookies to be fully accepted into the Air Force, he sent it to me to show that he achieved his goal to become part of the Military. He wanted to also remind me that goals can be achieved, no matter how dire things seem to be, or get. He reminded me that he will always care and love me, despite my actions of the time, which I will not discuss right now.

"I wish things had turned out differently. However, it isn't too late to set things right. I am giving this to you, Gabriel, because you're still having a hard time with what has happened to you over the past number of weeks. You had goals of your own; you told me one of them by expressing that you wanted to have more challenging books. I also remember not too long after we first met, you were telling me on how much you would love to either play professional cricket, or join the Air Force, like your father, or look after sick animals, all of these thoughts of what you wish to be when you're a man.

"I was going to give this to Elijah, but he's got his own wooden carving of a Blackhawk, and he knew you hadn't gotten your own carving of an aircraft yet, like he and Victoria have."

"Because they turned ten," said Gabriel.

"Well, this will be given two years earlier, because I believe you need it more than I do."

Gabriel really looks at the wooden F-111, how it was fitting perfectly inside the box. He then goes and hugs Snape.

"Thank you, Uncle Severus," he says, trying not to tear up.

Snape hugs him back. "You are most welcome."

* * *

_Author's Note: Apologies for the slightly elongated time it took to get this chapter done, have been currently dealing with the 'fun and joys' of life... yippee. Things are certainly much more different to when I was writing before now._

_These next few chapters after the next one will be probably going more into Snape's past, sort of a revelation to the kids on what he and Julius grew up with and how they grew apart and such._

_I am also currently figuring out another fiction to put up, so if you're interested, be on the lookout for it, just not sure how to title it and summarise it yet. I haven't even written chapter one yet, but will get there shortly. Until then, happy readings and hope you're all well._


	9. Birthday Cheer

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_My apologies on taking a long while to getting this chapter up; between writer's block and dealing with children and their needs, story writing goes on the backseat for a bit. Tis life I guess._

* * *

Chapter Nine

Birthday Cheer

Awe was perhaps the best way to describe the expression on Gabriel's face, which turned into excitement. He and Snape reached the Quidditch grounds, which had been transformed into a cricket pitch in the middle, with what could be closely resembled to a Sideshow Alley of sorts, including the Laughing Clowns, Water Ball Toss, Wheel of Fortune and Balloon Darts where a section of the stands would be.

"I distinctly remember overhearing how you would go to one of, what you call shows every year, be it the Royal Victorian Show or the Exhibition, Ekka you call seemed to refer it to. Learning how you missed out this year due to obvious circumstances, and of course, not forgetting your love for cricket. So, when your brother came to me asking for help on ideas on what to do for your birthday, that can also involve some of the school, we came up with this," Snape explains.

"This is just awesome, Uncle! Thank you!" Gabriel couldn't wipe the grin off of his face.

"I cannot take all of the credit," says Snape, nodding toward the approaching Elijah, Victoria. "Where's Ainsley?"

Elijah answers; "She's decided to hang with Fred and George."

Snape sees Ainsley was quite happy to 'help' the twins with their stall. If by helping meant she was throwing the balls that were for the game into the water and making nice big splashes that is; thankfully the twins seemed to have decided to work around this.

"Let her be," Snape suggests. "She'll be watched out for."

"What can I do first?" Gabriel then asks, torn between the Sideshow Alley and the Cricket Pitch.

"Well," says Elijah, grinning, "The way we've gotten this planned is we're going to divide up into four teams. The teams are going to be decided by the Balloon Darts. Each Balloon has a different coloured caps, and there are enough to divide each person up into the teams. Once the colours are chosen, the team mascots must be chosen, that's where the Water Ball Toss comes in – so long as Ainsley doesn't cause too much hassle that is; in the water there will be floating lily pads with cups in them, inside each cup are different items associated with all sorts of stuff, like animals and food and objects."

"What about the remaining stuff?" Gabriel asks, curious, not seeming to question that there was food and object choices for teams.

"We got that covered, too," says Victoria. "The rest of the stuff comes with prizes. You see, while two teams are playing on the pitch, the rest can play about with the Sideshow, or sit and watch the game. There is more, but we can't reveal too many surprises."

Gabriel understood.

"And, because you're the birthday boy, you get to throw the first three darts," Elijah tells his little brother, leading him over to the Balloon Dart stall that was covered with different colours in four different patterns; royal purple with sky blue, dark green with white, burnt orange with silver and black with yellow.

"You remembered my favourite colours!"

"Mate, how can we forget that you're one kid who likes purple, white, orange and of course Richmond's signature yellow and black?" Elijah looks at his brother as though he was nuts that they wouldn't remember such a thing. "Now, stand here and throw the darts!"

Gabriel stook on the marker, aiming the first dart, throwing it, and having it land square on a balloon, popping it instantly, revealing a burnt orange and silver cap.

"Yeah!" he whooped, pumping a fist, and accepting the cap from Isobel. "What do I do with these ones?"

"Throw them at the balloons," Isobel tells him.

"But aren't they will other teams?"

"After your team cap is revealed, the last two darts will give you two extra items that are to be worn if you wish to of that team's colours. We made sure everyone who wants to join in with the cricket side of this party is to be covered," Isobel explains.

Feeling better informed and still with excitement, Gabriel took aim and popped two more balloons, receiving a burnt orange and silver shirt and a pair of sunglasses with burnt orange and silver framing.

Next up was Victoria, she ended up with a dark green and white cap, accompanied with a dark green and white hair ties and face paint – which she asked Snape if she could wear and to help her put on if she could. Snape couldn't say no to this, so he obliged to help his niece.

It did take a bit to sort out the teams, but because everyone was having fun, it didn't seem to matter, for it was also pretty quick, too. Especially when people were getting items ranging from wrist bands to nail polish, from shirts to shoelaces, whatever accessory or 'clothes' that could be worn, it was.

Elijah calls out after blowing a whistle to get everyone's attention; "Now that we're in our teams!" (He was in the colours royal purple and sky blue). "It is now for the Team Captains to come up to Water Ball Toss to find out their team mascot, which will also be your team's name!"

The four Captains were; Gabriel Snape (because he's the birthday boy, so got automatic dibs for the role), Damian O'Shea (being one of Elijah's best friends and also a fellow cricket fanatic), Angelina Johnson (turning out to knowing a fair bit about cricket) and Luna Lovegood (because Victoria didn't want the role and encouraged the team to give Luna a shot at something she hasn't done before, even if she may not be at all familiar with cricket).

First up was Luna Lovegood's dark green with white team; she was given three chances and whichever floating cups the balls landed in, those were the choices the team had to pick from, (so there was some choice allowed if there was more than one successful landing).

Luna manages to get two of the three into cups.

"Which did we get?" Luna asks eager to know.

Fred and George get the cups and pull out the tokens of the representing mascots; the first was a token of a lamington and the second was a...

"Is that a toad?" Hermione asks.

"Not just any toad," says Victoria, mixed with dismay and amusement. "That's a Cane Toad, very deadly, as is most things in Australia. Introduced to the land to try and control the cane bugs, unfortunately turning into one of the biggest pests around. However, Queenslanders are affectionately known as Cane Toads, because that is where the Toad started in."

"And what is that cake looking thing?" Luna asks.

"Lamington, very delicious," Victoria smiles.

"So, what's it to be?" Fred asks grinning. "Are you going to call yourselves the Nimble Lamingtons or the Cunning Cane Toads?"

After a very quick discussion, the green and white team went with the Cane Toad; as for the lamington, the Cane Toads were each given a small box with freshly made lamingtons for them to enjoy.

"Told you this day was going to be full of surprises," Victoria whispers to a wide eyed Gabriel.

He decided to let the other two team Captains, Angelina and Damian have their turns before him. Gabriel learned that, even if he was the birthday boy, he still needed to be fair. So this was his way of putting that lesson forward.

Angelina's royal purple and sky blue team also had to choose from two; an echidna and an Akubra, which is an Australian branded wide brimmed hat. The choice was automatic, calling themselves 'the Echidnas' and they each got an Akubra hat.

Damian's yellow and black wound up calling themselves 'the Whomping Willows'; the other prizes they got each was given a packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans – Damian flunked two of the three balls, so the Team didn't get much choice, but at least they still got a constellation prize.

Lastly, Gabriel, being with good hand-eye coordination got all three into cups. They chose to be known as 'the Unicorns', because the decided to leave it up to Gabriel to choose between a cauldron, a unicorn and a meat pie. Hey, the kid likes unicorns and it was better than being called the Meat Pies; which everyone was given, as well as miniature cauldrons filled with either lollies or joke products.

Now that the teams had been all sorted and named, it was time to get the mini cricket matches started, where each team was given five overs at a time, starting with the Unicorns and the Cane Toads.

Interesting was perhaps the weakest word to choose for the following to occur. Gabriel was the first to bowl and bowled to Goyle, who managed to hit the ball... and allow the bat to fly out of his hands and nearly knocking Draco Malfoy out with it; Malfoy was fast enough to get out of the way when he saw it coming at him. Goyle gave the batting another shot, being advised to think of it as a beater's bat, which helped, because this allowed the Slytherin third year to hit the ball and score a run.

Goyle wasn't the only one who sent their bat flying when they had a chance to bat. Some of the releases were quite impressive, Neville Longbottom of the Whomping Willows managed to get his bat all the way out of the Quidditch grounds! Everyone was stumped as to how on earth he managed to conquer that feat.

Dumbledore decided that he wanted to have a go, out of respect, they let him. It was rather comical to witness this one hundred and something year old wizard with a very long beard and robes holding a cricket bat... yet they were just as gobsmacked on how he was able to manage smash the ball that was bowled to him, getting two fours and three sixes, the last one only produced him with two runs, but it certainly placed the Echidnas in the lead for a bit. Each teacher was also given a 'team' to 'support' via the choice of the Balloon Darts, out of the spirit of the event.

Even little Ainsley was given a go, Elijah knelt down and rolled the ball to her, she tried to hit it, but decided to turn and smack the wickets off their stumps instead, which she thought was highly funny, because she quickly went to the wickets up the other end to try and knock the other set of stumps. She was stopped by Percy Weasley, which she wasn't too pleased on, so she wacked the redhead in the shin with her bat, prompting Snape to go and retrieve the feisty 20 month old. Poor Percy will be sporting a nice bruise...

Whoever wasn't playing cricket was at the stalls playing the games or relaxing and watching the games.

When lunchtime came, everyone had really worked up an appetite, so they all went back to the castle to have lunch. Lunch was the normal choices Hogwarts gave, but this didn't bother the students one bit, they were hungry. Dumbledore then made the announcement that the surprises hadn't finished yet.

"Once lunchtime is over, we'd like for you to go do your dormitories for a few hours, this will allow you some sort of quiet time, when it is time, the same people who were invited to the Quidditch grounds will be invited to come into the Great Hall," he explains. "But you are to wait until you are retrieved!"

Buzzes of enthusiasm could be heard, mixed with those who wanted to protest, because they had missed out on the events of the Quidditch grounds, and now they were going to miss out on the one being held in the Great Hall, too.

Snape was not impressed by this at all.

"Might I need to remind those few who are in complaint of this as to why they are missing out?" he chooses to speak up.

This ceases the disgruntled almost immediately.

Once lunch was done, everyone did as they were told. Gabriel was invited to accompany by a member of every House to be in their common room, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want anyone to be unhappy; he went to his Uncle for help.

"What would you like to do?" Snape decides to ask, carrying a very tired Ainsley.

"I'd like to go with all of them, but I can't," said the boy.

Snape has a light bulb moment and gathers the Prefects of each House; he tells them that Gabriel will be allowed to spend one hour in each common room, which will give enough time for the hours needed for the surprise to be set in place.

"Start with the Gryffindor Tower, then the Ravenclaw Tower, Hufflepuff will be after, Slytherin will be last."

With this agreed upon, Gabriel was much happier to have something fair put in place. Snape was content on knowing that he will be okay... he hoped.

Now Ainsley was starting to rub her eyes more and looking up at Snape with that look he's gotten to know.

"Time for a nap, Missy," he says.

The hours passed on by and soon all who were invited were allowed to go the Great Hall. Jaws dropped and eyes widened when they saw the transformation. In place of where the House tables would be, there were comfortable recliner style chairs with small tables in between them, and at the front, where the teachers table usually was a large screen.

"What is this?" some of the young witches and wizards muttered.

They could see the old projector that was sometimes used in classes where needed, but they didn't understand why it was here in the Great Hall, or the chairs.

"Please take a seat in any of the chairs," Dumbledore offers the students.

This they do. They all notice that they could all see the screen without any troubles at all.

"This evening, we are going to do what some Muggles would call a Double Feature," Snape announces. "Just before we start you will find on the tables a menu with select items of choice food and beverages to choose from. Simply tap the item twice and it will appear. This will be optional throughout the evening."

"Before we do that," Elijah interjects, coming in from the door that was off the teacher's dais.

With the help from Damian, Michael and Isobel, Elijah was carrying in a decent sized birthday cake with eight candles alight.

Gabriel was once again grinning from ear to ear. Moments later after happy birthday was sung and the candles blown out, the cake was taken away to be cut out and served among those who would like to have a slice. In the meantime, the first of the double feature movies began to start the opening credits.

* * *

_Author's Notes: I will leave you to guess what those movies were. For those unfamiliar with the sport cricket, it is a well favoured game shared between a good number of countries, with the beginning origins being England. A bowler bowls 6 balls which is known as an Over, the object for the batsman is hit the ball in order to score Runs, the highest amount of runs that can be hit is 6, the lowest 1. I could have written in someone getting a Duck – which means they didn't get any runs at all. The bowler and his team of fieldsmen have to try and catch the ball or hit the stumps/wickets to get the batsman out. The first team to bat is the team setting the score for the other team to chase._

_There is more to the game, but this is just the basic information on the sport. Being from country that follows this summer sport and growing up with it on the telly and marrying someone who's just as passionate in watching, it's sort of easy to pick up a few things._

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, took a fair bit of figuring out to get through and I hope you, to whoever is reading, are doing okay._


	10. Decisions and Choices

Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination.

_ Apologies for taking a good while to get this written and placed on up. Thank you for your patience. Been going back and forth between this story and another two I am trying to figure out on in the idea of posting it up, but not sure how to best write them at this point._

_I am also going over my head on how to best close this story when it happens, as anyone who knows the Harry Potter books... _well duh Calypphire! We're on a fan fiction site where a section is virtually dedicated to the series! Sheesh!_ That would mean you would know what happens near the end of book three. _Oh... gee... let's think... hmm..._ I will be writing it in a way that, I hope, will work out to something enjoyable to read._

* * *

Chapter Ten

Decisions and Choices

"Are you certain that you still wish to go through with your plans, Severus?"

It was the first of November, the night after the scare of having Sirius Black enter the castle and causing the Fat Lady to go into hiding, as well as the students of the school to spend the night in the Great Hall, while the staff and Head Boy and Girl searched the castle and grounds, only to turn up with nothing.

Snape looks at Dumbledore with firmness; "Are you seriously going to hold the actions of a criminal over my choice to do what is needed for my family?"

"You're needed to help with keeping Harry Potter safe!"

"And neglect the needs of my nieces and nephews in the meantime?"

"That is not what I am saying, Severus. I am saying that you need to really consider what is important as a whole, here," the older wizard was very earnest in his words.

Frowning deeply, Snape shakes his head in almost disbelief. "My plans have not changed, and they are not going to."

Disappointment was just on the surface of Dumbledore's face. Snape wasn't going to be made to feel guilty, and so he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He went to turn and walk away from the older wizard.

"Your nieces and nephews need to stay here in the United Kingdom, Severus. They need to grow more resilient and you saw how they're accepted more than you think."

Snape whirled on Dumbledore, dark eyes full of glare; "What my kids need and don't need is not up to you!"

"Your kids?" Dumbledore raises his eyebrows.

"I am their guardian, Albus, so essentially that makes them my kids!"

"Never thought I'd hear the day you'd ever declare any child as your own. But that doesn't change my view on this. Those children need to stay here."

"Why? They are not your charges to look after. Not fully."

"Because you are needed here and those children should not be clouding your judgment on what is right!"

The words felt like a punch in the guts to Snape.

"Clouding my..." he couldn't even bring himself to finish what Dumbledore had just said.

Fuming, Snape turned and marched off before he would say something he would really regret.

He reached the apartment to find his four nieces and nephews and Elijah's friends. They were helping Damian, Michael and Isobel to pack, for they are to be leaving the day after the following one.

"Are you okay, Uncle?" Victoria asks seeing the displeasure marking Snape's face.

Snape shakes his head. "What I am about to tell you needs to stay between us for the moment."

"What is it?"

"You are aware of how I was taking you to Australia for the Christmas period?" Snape starts.

The Snape children nodded.

"The true reason was to set things up in order to move there permanently. I had it set so I will resign my post as Potions Master here, at Hogwarts, in June next year. Dumbledore is very aware of this, but is trying to persuade me into staying, believing that what is best for you, from my perspective isn't worth anything and you ought to stay and accept that this is now home."

Snape continued to explain in a way the children would understand until he was done.

Elijah was the first to speak for him and his siblings. "Do you want to stay here, Uncle?"

Snape shakes his head; "In truth? No. I stayed here because I had obligations I thought I couldn't let go of. Now that I have you four to consider, I thought by putting this move in place it would be for a better choice, especially after what has happened to you Elijah. The question I will give is this, are you going to be comfortable staying here, in the UK, at Hogwarts?"

This gave the children a quiet moment to think.

"Even though the past couple of days since I've woken up have been great. I still don't feel overly secure being here, Uncle Severus. That's the truth," says Elijah.

"I don't want to attend here when I turn eleven," Victoria had a mix of guilt in her voice. "I am sorry."

Snape shakes his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You are being honest, and you know how much I value such quality."

"I would like to go back to Australia, too," says Gabriel.

"Then that settles it," Snape says firmly. He turns to Elijah's friends. "Would it burden your families if I messaged them to help in varying areas to help make this move happen, in full, by Friday, the third of December? As in, sending items over and storing them and be on the lookout for houses that are on for sale in, I have no idea where right now."

"You can go as far as giving us some stuff to put in our suitcases and bags to take with us," said Michael with confidence in his words.

"Thank you," said Snape with appreciation.

"What about your job here?" Victoria asks a little concerned.

"I will find something," Snape tells her. "Right now, you say a word about this to anyone outside of this room. Do you understand?"

Everyone agreed.

###

Sending and receiving messages under Dumbledore's nose was between difficult and easy. Anything that was sent to Snape, Dumbledore was far too interested that it was almost intrusive, so this resulted in any messages from Australia coming in via owl is addressed to the children, under the guise that it's just friends keeping touch. Well, they are, but there is more going on than the Headmaster is aware off.

Lupin did discover what was going on by accident, and promptly started helping the Snapes with their plans. Even asking questions on whether it was possible to find employment for someone like him, after remembering the many stories from Elijah, Victoria and Gabriel speak of the werewolves they know, including Damian.

"If you like, I could always find out more when I get there?" Snape suggested to Lupin. "If what we are being told is true, you might have something if it doesn't work out here."

"I will definitely consider it, Severus, thank you," Lupin replies.

Quidditch season was underway for the school and it was Gryffindor verses Hufflepuff first up, because of a couple of the Slytherin players catching the flu just a few days out and there wasn't much time to find replacements.

It gave some excitement to the Snape children, despite the unpleasant weather. Ainsley wasn't too pleased, however, given that it was thunderstorms and rain, which she still hated very much, so instead of making her endure the torture, Snape managed to acquire the help from Madam Pomfrey.

"I'll make sure she's occupied, don't you worry, Severus," the nurse assured.

The game was in full swing and the Snape children were cheering for the Gryffindors, being that it was Elijah's house. Though Victoria did admit that if Slytherin had of been playing she would be rooting for them instead.

"I may not want to go to this school, but if I had to pick a house to be sorted into, it would be either Slytherin or Hufflepuff," she told her Uncle Severus.

"Why do you believe you're suited for those two houses and not the other two?" he asks, with a small smile of pride that he had a niece who considered Slytherin as her choice of House.

"I like to think that I value fair play and hard work, but I also think I have an ambitious side, too. I don't think I have the suitability for Gryffindor, like Elijah does and I am not that smart, so I don't think Ravenclaw would want someone who isn't intelligent in their house," Victoria honestly tells him.

Snape shakes his head with disagreement; "Do not devalue your worth, Victoria. You are far more intelligent that you are giving yourself credit for. Plus I have seen how witty you can be, and the Ravenclaws really wanted you to join their house, if you don't get into Slytherin, I remember a few of them telling me as much, after they learned of your choices."

"Really?"

"Really," said Snape with a smile and a nod.

Unfortunately, whilst the game was happening, the Dementors, who were meant to be stationed at the entrances and exits of the school only, came in and caused much distress, including Harry Potter falling unconscious from his Nimbus 2000, and a fair number of people just feeling all of a sudden glum or worse, depending on the degree.

Dumbledore, with the help of the staff, was able to rid the Dementors off the grounds and hurry the children back to the castle to where they needed to go.

"Horrible things!" Victoria grumbles, unhappily, entering the apartment first.

"Ministry's insistence, I am afraid," says Snape, going over the kitchenette and pulling out chocolate bars from cupboard and giving some to each of the children and helping himself as well. He then tells them; "Once you've eaten them, have warm showers and put on some comfortable clothes. We're going to have a movie marathon with comfort food between now and until you are to go to bed."

"What movies can we watch?" Gabriel asks with excitement.

"You may pick two movies each, but it must be something that is suitable for all four of you, as I will be getting Ainsley once I've showered and dressed. We may not get through all six movies, seven if you pick one for Ainsley as well, but at least it will help get your minds off the Dementors and the grim thoughts you've probably conjured. I would suggest you choose stuff that would help you laugh, too."

"Okay," the children agreed.

"We can pick after our showers," Elijah tells his brother and sister.

Snape watched the three go up to their rooms; he then quickly whipped his wand to make the couch a little larger than it was, as well as adding a mattress in front of it. All five ought to fit, with room to spare and full ability to watch the screen. Unbeknown to Dumbledore, Snape had found out how to allow certain electronics work, not all of them, but when he was able to convert one television and two CD players to being able to work. The Headmaster only believed that the projector for the double feature only the last weekend was enough to treat the school, and didn't wish to consider the possibilities after that.

Once satisfied, he quickly went to his room, where he had his own bathroom, showered and dressed within minutes, coming back out to the living area to find that Victoria was sitting at the dining table, she was still damp.

"Victoria?"

"I'm just waiting for Gabriel and Elijah, we did a quick roll of the dice to see who went first, second and third for the shower," Victoria explains.

Snape could see that there was something on his young niece's mind. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Victoria studies her Uncle for a moment.

"I've never been around those things before, Uncle. I didn't know how bad they really were. I didn't know they had come to the Quidditch pitch, but I did start thinking about the day we lost Mum and Dad. I hadn't thought about it until then, and then when I did..." tears started pooling into her eyes. "I miss them so much!"

Snape was quick to go over and wrap his arms around Victoria to comfort her.

"I know you do, Victoria. I believe, in many ways, you always will," he got her to look at him. "If you ever want to talk about what is on your mind and feeling, especially when it comes to your parents, you can come to me. I am here for you four children."

Victoria nods a little. "Thank you, Uncle Severus."

"You are most welcome."

After a quick hug, Severus tells Victoria that since she's still waiting, she can pick her two choice movies, and to let the boys know they can have their picks when they come out.

"I need to go and get Ainsley," he says.

"Okay," said Victoria. "May I start making the nachos?"

"No, wait until I get back, but you can get the stuff ready to make the nachos."

Victoria was okay with the compromise from Snape. Snape wasn't comfortable with Victoria and Gabriel cooking unsupervised, he wasn't as worried when it came to Elijah, though.

She watches Snape leave the apartment, before going over to the selection of movies. After really looking at the choices, she chose _Lilo & Stitch_ and _Finding Nemo_.

Elijah comes out wearing long pyjama pants and simple t-shirt with a tiger on it, feeling refreshed.

"Hey, Vicky, I thought Uncle Severus said to wait until after our showers before choosing."

"He did, but after I told him of when my brain couldn't stop thinking Mum and Dad and how they died and us finding out..."

Her big brother understood straight off. "I had the same thoughts, too, Vicky."

"He also said that you can pick your choices, before he went to get Ainsley."

It didn't take Elijah as long to choose _Shrek_ and _The Princess Diaries_. Not long after Gabriel picked _Home Alone_ and _Matilda_. By then Snape had returned with Ainsley, (who was all smiles to see her big brothers and sister), to see them all ready to get on with the marathon; Victoria also got the stuff out and ready so is to get the nachos sorted.

"Which movie will be going on first?" he asks them.

"We're not sure; we thought that because you suggested the marathon, then maybe you can pick the order of which the movies can go in?" Elijah tells him.

"Yeah, we didn't want you excluded from choosing, even if it's from our picks," said Victoria.

Thinking how generous, Snape looks at the six movies they chose and put them in order of which would be nice to see them in. He had never seen any of these movies, he chose _Matilda_ first.

"Elijah, you can set it up, while Victoria can help me put the nachos together. Gabriel, can you keep Ainsley occupied until then?"

"Sure!"

Within minutes they were all sitting down with beautifully cooked nachos and watching the opening scenes to _Matilda_.

Snape's jaw drops when he sees Mr Wormwood just tossing the baby-seat with the baby Matilda into the car, even more horrified when the same seat was moving and swirling around.

"How does this kid not die?" he couldn't help asking.

"Because we like to think she's a witch," Victoria replies casually. "The book is just as awesome."

As the movie went further, Snape found he was laughing with the kids at some of the scenes, practically losing it when the television blows up and later when Trunchbull freaks out over a newt.

"You said there was a book of this?" he asks Victoria when the credits rolled.

Victoria nods; "Yep. It's called _Matilda_ and it was written by Roald Dahl."

"Brilliant author he is!" Elijah shoots in. "Well, was, as he's kinda dead."

"I want to be able to read _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_," Gabriel declares.

Ainsley makes some sort of garble followed by; "Unky!" Taking a hold of Snape's leg and squeezing in a sort of hug, before trying to scramble on to his lap.

With a smile, Snape helped his youngest niece up. "Never thought I'd hear you say Uncle, Miss AJ."

AJ was a nickname Snape thought of almost by accident after learning Ainsley middle name was Josephine, and since it was apparently she didn't have her own nickname, like her three siblings, yet, it simply stuck. However, the 'Miss' was solely Snape's preferred add on, to give it a tad more personal touch.

The following movie that was put on was _Lilo & Stitch_.

"I would love to go to Hawai'i," Elijah comments when they get to the scene where Lilo is running to get to dance class. "The surfing would be awesome."

"I didn't know you could surf," says Snape with curiosity.

"I'm not too bad, I seem to have the better ability with body surfing, but still was good enough to be part of the Little Nippers back home. I thought you knew."

Snape shakes his head. "Must have not paid attention if you had; but if you would like to try and take it back up again when we settle in, you have my support."

Elijah grins. "Thanks, Uncle Sev."

After _Lilo & Stitch_, Snape suggested a short break. This allowed him to give Ainsley a warm bath and fresh clothes, and for the other kids to retrieve their pillows so they could veg out in extra comfort. They loved the enlarged couch and mattress, it was proving to be an added bonus and a genius think up from Snape. Plus it was a good excuse to make some mini pizzas.

_Finding Nemo_ was next and the feeling of homesick touched the kids a little watching the images of the Great Barrier Reef. But they were soon giggling away.

"Since when do sharks decide to become vegetarian?" Snape dared to try and question the illogic of Bruce and his shark mates.

Gabriel near choked on his drink when the sharks congratulated and cheered on Dory for 'never eating a fish'.

"That's because you are a fish, Dory!" he says.

"Well, technically, so are sharks," Victoria points out.

"Not according to those three confused supposed predators..." Snape mutters to himself.

"I am curious about one thing though?" Gabriel then says.

"What's that?"

"I'd like to know how good Bruce would taste like if he were to be turned into a piece of flake!"

"Bruce is a great white shark, Gabbo!" Elijah snorts. "I don't know if they're good for human consumption. But you know full well that the best flake is from the Gummy Shark!"

"I'd like to know what Hammerhead takes like," Victoria grins, playing along.

Snape decides to put his opinion in for fun; "If you are going to be play the 'I'm curious on what sort of shark must taste like', then I'd be curious on what a whale shark would be like."

"Be interesting to even try and catch it to fry it up," said Elijah, thinking about it.

"However, in truth, I'd rather stick with the familiar foods," their Uncle says.

"So do us," said Gabriel. "But it's kind of cool to think of what might be."

When that movie was finished, Snape saw the time.

"We have time for one more movie," he tells the older three; Ainsley had fallen asleep against his chest. "If we have time tomorrow, we might watch the remaining two. Does that sound fair?"

The Snape kids always knew their Uncle to be fair, even if he might be a bit stricter than their parents were.

"Which one would we finish with?" one of them asks.

Snape thinks it over, he did have the movies arranged in the order he wouldn't mind seeing them in. But now that there was this small dilemma and his peaking curiosity on what each movie had in store.

"Tell you what. I will put Ainsley down in her cot, you three fix final snacks? One small bowl of whatever mix of lollies, chocolates or crisps each and if you like a drink. When I get back, I will have the names of the movies on folded paper and placed in a hat. The one drawn out will be the one we finish off with for tonight."

This was agreed with.

It didn't take Snape long to resettle Ainsley, making sure she had her Dorothy toy, before returning to the children.

In the end, _Princess Dairies_ was the final movie of the night.

To Snape's own surprise, he actually truly enjoyed it. He never knew he would be in favour of such a light hearted humoured film. He'd heard of Julie Andrews, but never knew her brilliance until now.

"What other movies does she feature in?" he found himself asking when the movie was done.

"Who?" Elijah asked to clarify.

"I think she goes by the name Julie Andrews," said Snape.

"A good few. We can list them if you like?"

Snape nods. "If you don't mind."

* * *

_All in all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to get the next one up quicker._


	11. Pack!

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you Guest for your review, I did need to translate it through Google to understand what you wrote, and it's all good. Thank you again._

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Pack!

Throughout the countdown in the weeks and eventually just days before they were set to leave, the Snapes had been able to sort out what they wanted to keep and send over to be held, and what could be given away, or sold.

When Dumbledore spotted Snape in Hogsmeade giving Madam Rosmerta some beautifully decorated crystal glasses and porcelain dishes and teacups at the Three Broomsticks, the old wizard couldn't help but enquire what was going on, approaching the Innkeeper after Snape had left, (who, by chance, hadn't seen him).

"Afternoon Madam Rosmerta," Dumbledore's voice was pleasant, watching her put away the box in a safe place until she could spare enough time to sort them out.

He was greeted with a beaming smile upon her return. "Afternoon, Albus, what could I do you the pleasure? Honey mead? Butterbeer?"

"Butterbeer would be lovely," said Dumbledore still smiling pleasantly. "Was that Severus Snape I just saw leaving?"

"Why yes, Albus. He had offered me a look at some nice glasses and tea sets that might come in use to the Inn a couple of days ago, thought why not, might come in handy and when I saw them, decided that if he wasn't going to use them, and I did have ideas of bringing some new designs in different ways, I would help take them off his hands.

"Not the first time he's been down in the village to part ways with some stuff. If it isn't the villagers themselves that required it, they knew someone who did," said the Innkeeper.

Dumbledore frowns a little; "Did he happen to mention why he was letting go of these items? And what sort of items were they?"

Rosmerta shrugs as she answers; "All sorts of items, including pieces of furniture he just shrinks and goes back to normal size to show anyone interested. As for why he's doing it, he didn't really say much as to why, but I had overheard the little boy and girl who were with him going on about the sort of houses they'd like to live in when they get to wherever they were going."

Dumbledore knew of Snape's plans on taking the children to Australia for the school holidays for a few weeks. He was also aware of the Potion Master's wishes to resign in June of the following year, to make the move to Australia permanent; something the Headmaster was still strongly against, and was still trying to persuade Snape of changing his mind on. What Snape didn't know, was while Dumbledore did say he would grant the man his resignation and would sign it to make it official, the Headmaster had no such plan on following through on Snape's wishes to leave. He didn't want to lose someone who was valuable enough to help him make sure that everything falls into place, should the time come.

He took a sip of his Butterbeer in thought. He needed to put a stop to whatever Snape was planning, whatever it was.

"Did the children say in specifics on where they were going to live? Or where these houses were located by chance?" he then asked Rosmerta, who was cleaning off the counter top of the plates and cups from the previous customers close to him.

"They were talking about Australia. I just put it down to children thinking of what they would do when they were older. They weren't shy in expressing how much they missed that country Julius Snape decided to call home, that was for sure. Never understood the attraction to such a far away country, to be honest," she replies with a shrug, before bustling off to clear tables.

Dumbledore wasn't at all pleased.

###

"You called, Headmaster?" Snape speaks as he enters Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore was sitting at his large desk, fingers pressed together, looking sternly at Snape down his crooked nose, through his half-moon glasses.

"You do realise how much I have done to make life easy for you, do you not?" the older wizard starts.

Snape raises his brows. "Pardon?"

Dumbledore didn't waste time in going off; "I gave you a job. I vouched for you when they were calling for your head. I had your promise that you would do what I ask of you, without question and be grateful for it. I saved you from having a life of misery, yet you repay me by plotting to go away for a few weeks and then resign a few months later."

"You knew of my plans, Albus. I came to you and you were quite well in agreement to my request," said Snape, frowning deeply.

"Yet, by the looks of it, you plan on leaving much sooner than that."

"What if I was, Albus? What can you really do?"

"Forbid you to resign," said the Headmaster, producing the written documents that would approve and agree to Snape's severance with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a Professor, allowing him to pursue whatever path he wished to choose.

"You do know that there are other channels, not just yours, which I can use to ensure my resignation to my post is secure?" Snape says.

"But you also know that I have a lot of influence in the Ministry and friends in high places," Dumbledore threatens.

This hardened the younger wizard's face. "From one Dark Lord to another..."

Dumbledore's eyes widened at the words. "What did you just say to me?"

"You heard me," Snape was quite bold in his stance. "You are threatened by the mere fact that I am choosing for something that I feel is worth a lot more to me than you believe it to be. You want me to choose you over my children."

"They are not your children! They are your brother's children," Dumbledore points out. "You are merely their Uncle."

Snape's lip curled a little; "I am still their legal guardian, which is more to the point in saying they are my children in that fact. I hadn't forgotten who they're born to, but they became mine when Julius and Katherine named me their children's trusting carer and parental guide should anything happen to them. I love those kids and will do anything for them."

"Then why don't you convince them to stay here and explain as to why you cannot leave? You made me a promise, Severus."

"Last I checked, it wasn't an Unbreakable Vow, _or_ anything that had a curse attached to it," said Snape, with confidence.

"No... But one word to a certain few people and you could have those children take from you..." Dumbledore was so casual with his words it sent the hairs on the back of Snape's neck to stand.

"**_You wouldn't dare!_**"

"Wouldn't I?"

Words were caught in Snape's mouth; he was stewing at the gall of this man's audacity to pull such a threat, which felt very much like a promise.

"I will give you until noon tomorrow to make your apology and full agreement to do as I say. Or else, those children will no longer be within your care, for they have become a bit of a distraction. I tried to play along, especially with that big birthday party for young Gabriel, in hope you would change your mind on the plans to resign. To show these children that they didn't have to leave and they would be making a grave mistake if they tried to go against what is seen as acceptable here."

Snape held his tongue as he turned to leave.

"Oh, and Severus."

The younger wizard shoots daggered eyes, which only amused the older wizard.

"Julius was a fool to have left where he belonged. He was needed where it counted, but he chose to turn his back on it all."

Snape shakes his head. "That is where you are wrong, Albus," he said, "Julius was one very smart man. A **true** Gryffindor, even I, a Slytherin, would admit to that. But I knew my brother, perhaps a lot better than _you_ ever cared to try. He didn't want to leave because he didn't love his country. He didn't turn his back from anything. He chose something that was far away from the mess that was going on.

"You will get my final decision at noon tomorrow. But don't you dare threaten me **or** my children! Or I would make you regret it."

With those words, the Potions Master stormed out of the Headmaster's office.

He nearly ran into Lupin on the way through on the first floor.

"Severus?"

"Have you seen any of the children?"

"Elijah is in his last class of the day, Ainsley, Gabriel and Victoria are with McGonagall in the staff room, why?"

Snape produced a small silver device that looked almost like a coin. "Put it to your ear."

Frowning a little, Lupin did so and was wide eyed on what he heard from it.

"Sounds like he's not the same person we knew," Lupin mutters.

"Oh, he's the same person, just a different side that he doesn't often show," Snape was rather grim.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Right now, I just want the children to be at the apartment."

"Wait until final bell, that way it be less conspicuous that you are planning whatever you're planning," Lupin advised. "I will help you where I can."

"Thank you."

###

Elijah entered the apartment to see five duffle bags about the place.

"What is going on, Uncle?" he asks Snape, a little confused.

Snape exited the hallway carrying some his own folded clothes and placing them in one of the bags.

"We're leaving tonight or at least in the very, very early hours of the morning, before the sun comes up," he tells Elijah.

"What? Why? We're due to leave next Friday week," said Elijah, now quite alarmed.

"I will explain later, but for now, I need you to just trust me on this and help me pack yours and your siblings' clothes and other items. Pack light, but obviously don't forget anything that is of importance or relevance. I've already got all the documents and whatever else in that form in my bag. I have one for each of us. Well, sort of, some of Ainsley's clothes will share with mine; the fifth one is just in case we randomly remember something before we have to officially leave."

"Do Vicky and Gabbo know?"

Snape shakes his head. "Not yet. They are currently with Remus, keeping them occupied in his office, after he relieved them from Professor McGonagall."

"What about Professor Dumbledore?"

By the expression Snape gave the teenager, Elijah understood then on the plausible reason he could come up with as to why their move would be moved forward a week.

"Remus is the only one who knows the full reason, he's going to be helping us," Snape then explains to help his nephew get a bit of an idea on who is in on it. "Now, the sooner we are packed, the sooner we can move to the next part of the plan. There are also four smaller bags on the dining table," he waves a hand over to the area for Elijah to see; "put at least one change of clothes in each for you, Gabriel and Victoria, three for Ainsley, into them."

Though he wanted to know what that entailed, Elijah figured he would have to wait and went to do as asked by hurrying to his room first to grab his choice of clothes for the smaller bag, once he did that, went to each of his siblings' rooms to gather their change of clothing, sorting them so it was easier for him to just place them neatly inside.

He noticed straight off how it was going to be easy to tell which bag was for whom when he reached the dining table. Ainsley's was a Wiggles bag, Gabriel's was Star Wars, Victoria's was a simple black and white bag and Elijah's had the remaining one, which was the same as Victoria's, only yellow and black instead.

"Is anything else meant to be going in these bags?" he asks Snape.

Snape was placing Ainsley's clothing into the same bag as his own clothes.

"Going to wait until I have retrieved Victoria and Gabriel, so they can choose what books or whatever they would like to pack into them, before everything is packed into these bags. Just place whatever remaining clothes that you've decided to not pack into the boxes that was over to be minded last week," he answers to Elijah's question.

"Okay," says Elijah.

It didn't take long to do that.

"Right," Snape then speaks. "I am going to get your brother and sisters. What I need you to do is select all of the remaining books you hadn't packed earlier and place them in separate piles that are for each of you. Same goes with any toys. If you do that before I get back, you may as well pick one or two books to put in your bag, while the rest gets back in the larger bag."

"You got it, Uncle," said Elijah.

He watched Snape leave and just as he disappeared;

"Good afternoon, Elijah," spoke a voice that just appeared all of a sudden, nearly sending the boy jumping into the air, and looking for the owner or the source of it.

Peering out of the fireplace was the head of Professor Dumbledore.

"May I ask as to why you are packing all of your belongings?"

"How long have you been watching?" Elijah demands.

"Long enough," says the Headmaster, his voice giving not hints. "You two were too distracted to notice. But that doesn't answer my first question."

"Why is it of your concern, Professor?" Elijah returns, getting very, very uneasy.

"Because I am going to let you know that the castle's main entrance is going to be rigged with a special set of spells, to ensure people who aren't meant to be leaving, don't leave," said Dumbledore, ever so casually.

"Students you mean?"

"You are a student of this school, are you not?"

"Currently," the boy's voice was wry.

"Then I just wish to ensure that you do not do anything that is going to be regretful, that is all. I am sure your Uncle will understand."

Elijah didn't give a reply.

"Professor Dumbledore!" he then hears Victoria.

"What do you want?" Snape asks, suspiciously.

"I was just informing your nephew on the new set of charms placed on the main doors later tonight. So many students have been wandering out of the castle of late, and with the Dementors about, well... you understand..." still with the casual tone.

"Last time I checked, I am not a student here," Snape frowns.

"No, but you are a Hogwarts Professor, and your duty lies here, so I would like to make sure you know that."

Satisfaction was seen on the older wizard's face as he watched Snape's face pale.

* * *

_Don't hate me! Please, please, please, don't hate me! It's like this Dumbledore right now is some sort of manipulative not so nice guy. Not really the direction I was going for when I started this fiction, to be honest – even with whatever information we're given and made to think of our own conclusions when it does come to the Harry Potter character's including whatever people made from the last book; _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ with Dumbledore. I had not seen any updates, such as the latest movie, and there are still theories apparently. However, I do remember writing a similar Dumbledore with an old fiction that is no longer up; guess this not so nice guy just needed to be explored a little._

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope you're all good._


	12. Out the Backdoor

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you for your reviews Guest and Trickster23._

_Guest – I am hoping so too._

_Trickster23 – Oh definitely at his worse and going to be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming chapters._

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Out the Backdoor

"What are we going to do?" Elijah asks, after Dumbledore's head had left the fireplace to leave the Snape family a little anxious.

"What were we going to do?" Victoria asks, now seeing the bags.

"We were going to leave tonight or the very early hours of the morning," Snape tells her and Gabriel, adjusting Ainsley on his hip.

"Why?"

Snape was going to tell the children when they were fully away from the place, but he guessed now was as good as any to explain.

"Do you wish to know the real reason as to why your father left to live in Australia?" Snape starts off with.

"To get away from the culture and because Mum was an Australian and he wanted to be with her," said Elijah, with a small frown. It was the version he and his siblings had been given for as long as they could remember their parents even talking about their lives before they met and just after.

"That would be some of the reasons, yes," Snape says.

"What other reasons are there?"

Snape, with one hand, moves the bag he had on the couch, and sits down, being careful to not drop Ainsley. Ainsley just rests her head against her Uncle's chest, with her thumb in her mouth – a habit she started up just recently.

"Your father was part of a group known as the Order of the Phoenix, people who banded together to do their best to stop an extremely bad wizard, I believe you would have heard of him since your time here."

The children all nod; there was no need to mention any names.

"Were you part of the group?" Gabriel asks.

"Not at first," Snape replies, shaking his head. "That is a part of my life that I won't explain in fuller detail until much later, though in ways it is significant. Anyway, during the time of the last Wizard War, Dumbledore formed a group, your Dad being a part of it. Their goal was to get as much information as possible and ensure the Dark Lord and his followers didn't cause as much damage. Your father was one of top key players in this group. He, like many others, would do Dumbledore's bidding without much question, all in the belief that they were aiming to do something good. Essentially, they actually very much were.

"What they didn't see, some perhaps won't, was how much carnage was being piled up. I am only seeing it for myself on just how deep the tangles of this whole thing goes, and understanding very much as to why by brother, your father, Julius, wanted to get out of it and away from it.

"He even offered me to join him."

"He did?" said Victoria, now sitting next to Snape, while the two boys were on the coffee table.

Snape normally wouldn't allow for anyone to sit on the coffee table, but right now it didn't matter.

"Yes," the Potions Master nods.

"Why didn't you?" Elijah asked.

"Fear, I guess," said Snape, thinking over the reasons in his head, only to come up with the main one. "Fear that I would be found. Fear that someone would follow me and harm my brother and the family he just started to have. Also, I felt I had obligations that I couldn't escape from. The same obligations your father had been trying to get me to see through the lines with, because he was once in the same position."

"What position would that be?"

"He witnessed something by accident, not long after he met your mother. He was forced into silence and to continue on in the Order, as if nothing had happened. When your father tried to get out, he was threatened, not only toward him, but toward your mother, as well. But, taking a risk, Julius managed to get away and, well, you know where he ended up living," a hint of smile on Snape's lips crept up.

"Who threatened them?" Victoria asks.

When Snape didn't give an answer, Victoria and Elijah came to the same answer and their eyes widened.

"But... I thought he was nice!" said Victoria.

"Yeah! I mean... he's the Headmaster of an entire school. How can he be so... controlling?" Elijah adds.

"Are you talking about Dumbledore?" Gabriel pipes in, who was trying his best to figure out the answer.

"Yes," Snape replies, voice slightly bleak. "It is very, very hard to really dive into the complexity that is Albus Dumbledore. He accuses some of his old Slytherin colleagues, and even past students, of being cunning, not to be trusted and so on, he keeps forgetting just how he is not as perfect as he likes to be made out to be. Sadly, some are too blind to the facts, thinking Dumbledore has everyone's interests at heart, how he loves Muggleborns and whatever else.

"They would be correct; he does believe that Muggleborns, Goblins and others ought to be equals. What they are not seeing is how he is trying to combat the prejudice and corruption within this country. Nor how he's trying to keep people from leaving, unless there is some string or reason attached to them leaving the area."

"Meaning, he isn't going to let you leave?" Elijah sums up.

"He threatened to have you taken away from me."

Thunderstruck was on the three older children's faces, Ainsley just looks up at Snape and places a hand on his chin, patting it softly. Snape looks down at his youngest niece, and smiles at her, running a soft finger along her cheek and chin, before softly beeping her nose, and pulling her in for a firm hug, which she allowed.

"I don't know what I would do if that were to happen," he then admits to them.

"We wouldn't want it to happen, and it's not going to," said Elijah. "You are all we have left."

Gabriel adds; "I don't want us taken away from you."

"I don't what that either," Victoria nods with agreement. "It was scary when we lost Mum and Dad, and we know they're not going to be able to come back. But you, Uncle, are not dead, you're still alive, I don't want to know what that is like to be taken from someone who's not done anything wrong to us and loves us like Mum and Dad did."

"Boop-boop!" Ainsley pipes up.

Snape was deeply touched by this.

"I think I would be just as lost if you were taken away from me," he says.

"So what do we do?" asks Elijah.

"We are still going to leave," said Snape, now with determination in his tone. "But, we're going to get some help to pull this off. Here is what we're going to do."

Before Snape uttered a word, he cast a silencing charm around them and ensured no-one would be able to enter the fireplace, be it their heads or body alike.

The children all leaned in to listen.

###

Who would have thought he, Lupin, would be pulling this stunt off?

Yet, he had gotten to become good friends with Snape, and he really liked the Snape children, so doing this didn't make him feel all that bad. Lupin still liked Dumbledore to a degree, but after what he heard from the magical recording device Snape had him listen to, it was fair to say that he was a little wary when it came to the older wizard.

With discretion he managed to slip out of the castle's large oak doors, with a small satchel tucked right under his arm, and hidden under his winter cloak. The fact that it was extremely cold outside helped. Just as casually, he walks all the way to the gates of the grounds that led to Hogsmeade, and kept going until he was right in the village itself.

He reaches the Hog's Head, where the owner, who looked distinctly like Albus Dumbledore, except for minor differences, noticed him and gave a couple of nods to acknowledge of Lupin's entry.

There were very few patrons, none too concerning.

Lupin approached the bar and sat down on one of the empty stools.

"Evening," he says politely to the Barkeep.

The Barkeep gives another nod; "Evening, Mr Lupin," he replies. "The usual?"

"Of course."

Aberforth didn't waste time in getting Lupin his beverage and setting it on the bar, it didn't escape Lupin's notice of the small folded parchment. Carefully unfolding it, Lupin read it and then looks at Aberforth.

"Thank you," Lupin says.

"Let's just say I grew up with the man," the younger Dumbledore brother's hushed voice just barely heard. "I will always love my brother. He did have some good qualities. But there are times where he needs to learn that he can't have everything his own way."

Lupin peers around before pulling out the satchel.

"Is everything in there?" Aberforth asks, taking the satchel as if it was very precious.

Lupin nods. "Severus will take them out when he gets here, with the children. I will be helping them."

"Do you remember how to get to the entrance you need to get here?"

An almost cheeky like smile, with a trace of reminisce, came upon the younger man's lips.

"As I recall, you helped us with that one."

A rare light chuckle escapes Aberforth.

"Considering I found it way before you made that map, which is why I knew had to buy this place."

"I just hope you don't mind it being at the time we've set it for."

Aberforth gives Lupin a 'are you seriously asking that question' right now look. Lupin knew then it all good.

###

Snape checked the time; he could feel his own heart pounding a little too hard against his chest.

"Right," he says to the children, as he picks up Ainsley and carefully places her into a baby carrier that was on his front, then wraps and buttons his large coat to keep her as warm and safe. "We need to be very, very quiet as we make our way to through to the seventh floor. We will be using all shortcuts to get there as quickly as possible, but not a word if you can."

The Snape children all nod.

It was one o'clock in the morning. Snape set it so that way the children could get at least a couple of hours sleep, but also enough time to be ready to get going.

Getting out of the dungeons was relatively easy. Not a soul was about. Except, perhaps, a ghost just gliding mindlessly into the Great Hall opposite them, giving the opportunity for the family to scurry quietly up the Grand Stairway. From there Snape led them to a few secret passageways here and there to help shorten the journey, heading up and up.

Along the way they nearly stood on a rat that was scurrying on by; Elijah had to plant his hand over Victoria's mouth so is to make sure she didn't scream.

"I know they're your biggest fear, Vicky, but we couldn't have you scream," he whispers soothingly and sympathetically.

Victoria just nods, doing her best to not panic and in hopes she didn't see any more of the big rodents.

Thankfully, she didn't.

"Funny thing is, that looked like the Weasleys' pet rat," Gabriel comments. "Missing toe and all."

"_Shh!_" Snape says, not really worrying whether it was a pet rat or not.

There was also a near incident with Peeves the Poltergeist. The sneaky spirit was trying to figure what sort of mischief he could get up to, when he happen to wind up on the same path as the Snape family, only heading in the direction of which they had came.

"Woo, little children out of their beds?" he grins. "I ought to start calling for a teacher."

"In case you're going blind in your death, I am a teacher," Snape speaks up.

"Bit odd to see you up here at this time," said Peeves.

"I thought I saw Mrs Norris heading toward the second floor," Snape then says, pulling out a big bag full of balloons from the bag he had over his shoulder – just in case he did by chance run into this Poltergeist. "These have all sorts of things ranging from water, to paint, to cream. I even included the instructions on how you can get the stuff into them without causing too much mess, or popping."

Peeves stared at the bag as if it were gold and went to stretch out his hands to take it. Snape pulls it away.

"I will only give these to you if you promise to not use them on us and _pretend_ you didn't see us. Do we have a deal?"

"On my life's honour!"

"And... you can have this!" Gabriel then says, pulling out another smaller bag. "I know they're only dungbombs, but..."

"I've always liked you kid, because you helped me with some of my pranks," Peeves grins. "But why? I gave them to you."

"I won't need them and I want them to go to someone who would use them in my place, here. Who better than the coolest Poltergeist of Hogwarts?"

"Aw, shucks!" Peeves looked as though he would have blushed if he had the ability. He also figured it out then as to why this was happening. "I'm going to miss you, kid. Take care you lot!"

He took his prized loot and drifted off and away from the Snape family to let them continue on their way.

Not long after that, they reached the seventh floor, where Lupin was waiting for them.

There was no dillydallying, no time for it, as the two men managed to conjure the entry point they needed that would allow them to enter a passageway that continued on and on until they finally reached the end, where they exited out of a portrait that had turned into a temporary doorway, before returning back to being the painted portrait of Arianna Dumbledore.

Waiting for them was Aberforth Dumbledore, with the duffle bags and smaller carry bags.

"I'd be sticking my wand out for the Knight Bus right about now," he tells Snape, looking at the time.

They had spent a good hour and a half getting to this point; longer than he thought possible to get through the castle and to here, the Hog's Head.

"We will stay here with Elijah, Victoria and Gabriel," says Lupin, knowing Ainsley was well tucked into Snape's coat in a baby carrier.

Snape quickly goes outside the pub and sticks his wand out. Moments later a violent purple triple Decker Bus comes rolling in. The doors open;

"Good mornin', I am Stan Shunpike and I'll be your conductor for this trip. How may we be of service?"

"I need you to take me and my nieces and nephews to the closest airport from here," Snape instructs.

"Whatchu want ta go ta Aberdeen for?" Stan asks.

"Oh what does it matter for, Stan?' spoke the shrunken head that hung from the bus mirror beside Ernie the driver.

"You don't need to know, just need to get there," said Snape, a little impatient.

"Alright, alright! Keep ya shirt on, man! Getchya rascals and things and hop on board!"

Within minutes, the Snape family were standing in line to purchase the next flight out.

* * *

_I couldn't resist the shrunken head. I know he's not in the books, but it's one of the things I will always love and giggle at. Plus there was no way in the world I wasn't going to get them out of there, and had to also add Peeves in somewhere. I think I wanted him to have actually been friends with Gabriel, because it would be interesting._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter; the next one will be up when able and hope you are all well._


	13. Flight to Paris

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you Guest, Trickster32 and t42n24t2 for your reviews; love the idea of trying to get rid of the tattoo on Snape's arm, that actually got me thinking if there is a way to do that. Let us hope the Family to get to Australia safely. Watch this space..._

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Flight to Paris

"We have one whole hour before we board the plane that gets us to Paris, France," said Snape, after they secured the first flight that was able to take the entire family.

It was sheer luck they got the flight they did.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Elijah asks as they move away from the line with their small packs, knowing their other luggage was securely being carried off to go to the plane they were to board in due time.

"I'm hungry!" Gabriel announces.

"Me, too," says Victoria.

Ainsley was squirming about and whinging.

"And looks like your sister needs a nappy change," Snape adds. "Tell you what, since I don't want us fully separated right now, we head to the parent room, so I can sort Ainsley out, after we get a bite to eat? If there is time before the flight, I will let each of you pick a book or something that might serve as entertainment on the flight over." (The Snape family had to pack whatever they could and not really thought of leaving anything out to add to the change of clothes, except for a couple of Ainsley's favourite toys.)

"I can deal with that compromise," said Victoria.

"Do I have to go in the parent room?" Elijah makes a face, as they approached the room with the baby with parent sign on it.

"I suppose not," said Snape. "You may stay out here, but don't go off anywhere."

"May I stay with Eli?" asks Gabriel, also not liking the concept of being in a baby room.

Snape rolls his eyes a little. "Just stay there."

Victoria had no problem in entering, if anything having her with him proved to be a good thing, because Ainsley decided now was a good time to put up a wiggle fest of a fight, not wanting to have a fresh nappy be put on, in fact was pulling at the tabs to try and take it back off.

The mother with her very small baby next to them couldn't help but giggle with sympathy.

"My eldest was just as much of a wiggle bug; he absolutely hated having his nappy. You're doing fine, Dad," she said.

Snape gives a thank you smile for the words of encouragement.

Eventually they managed to get Ainsley all sorted and rejoined the boys to head over to one of the cafes within the airport to fill their rumbling bellies.

"We have thirty minutes," Snape informs, after they sat down at a table with their food and then looking at his watch stating it was 4:26am. "I don't want to wolf down your food and do not worry if we don't make it to pick your books, since we'll be spending the night in a hotel when we get to Paris so that way can take a bit of a rest while we figure out which direction to go in, because we're not going to be able to get to Australia as fast as we'd like to."

"Why not?" Gabriel asks after he swallowed his mouthful of blueberry muffin.

"It would be safer and smarter to confuse the people who are likely to try and find us," Snape replies.

"I thought once we got to Australia, we'd be safe," said Elijah slightly baffled.

Snape paused for a moment before explaining; "I will give you better details when we get to the hotel. Just trust me on this."

"You haven't given us any reasons to not trust you, Uncle," Elijah gives him a quick smile, understanding some explanations are better left to wait.

Just then Snape caught movement at the corner of his eye. His face paled a little when he saw a couple of familiar faces in the distance; both were wearing travel cloaks and were definitely trying to find someone... them...

"I know I don't usually recommend eating and walking at the same time," he goes on to say to the children.

"You never let us eat and walk at the same time," Victoria reminds him.

"Well, this time it is going to have to be broken," Snape tells them. "We need move to somewhere close to the terminal we need to board the plane on, but out of sight to those two, way in the distance over there."

"Well, we could just start heading that way now, since it's all the way in that direction," Elijah suggests, pointing over his shoulder, which conveniently was a pathway that was bustling with crowds of people going to and from the terminals up that way.

"Let's go," said Snape, picking Ainsley's muffin up, as well as his unwrapped Danish, and swiftly got out of his chair, almost in sequence the older three grabbed the four small bags and followed their Uncle, (who was obviously still carrying Ainsley in the carrier).

They disappeared into the crowd, fading out of view just in time, for the two Aurors had looked toward the very table they had occupied just minutes before. Another turn of luck was just as they reached the terminal they needed to be, the air hostesses were starting to open up the doors to accept tickets for the very plane they needed to be on. There was absolutely no time to waste.

Hearts were hammering away in their chests when they joined the line, keeping their eyes peeled for the Aurors.

"Good morning, sir?" the Air hostess at the counter before the doors that led to the doors greeted with a polite smile.

"Good morning, ma'am," Snape says politely.

"You have very pretty hair!" Victoria commented on the woman's beautifully done in this elegant like do.

"Why thank you," the woman beams a little, as she takes and checks the tickets. "You are aware that your two older ones will be in the row in front of you and your younger two?"

Snape nods; "Yes, the kind gentlemen at the purchase sector explained it all in detail, we had to figure which would be the best seating arrangement due to the possible passenger numbers and already booked seating."

The Hostess gives another smile. "You seem to be all in order, please enjoy your flight."

"Thank you."

Before they knew it they found their seats, Gabriel was thrilled to be given a window seat, and Snape sat next to him and was helped with a special belt to secure Ainsley, as she was going to be sitting on his lap for takeoff. Victoria and Elijah didn't really bother who had the window, they were just happy to be on the plane.

"After we takeoff, we're giving all of the kids a small complimentary activity bag if they would like one," the Hostess who was helping Snape and Ainsley informs.

"May I have one, please?" Gabriel asks his Uncle.

"You may, just be patient until then," Snape answers.

The waiting to get off the ground was intense, but they knew once they felt themselves being lifted to be jetted off, a small feel of relief could be felt. Snape could see a tiny slither of the palest of purples in the sky from the open window. It won't be long before dawn, with the sun, would break and wake many slumbering people.

###

The flight over was uneventful. Ainsley didn't scream once, if anything, she was more occupied with the little activity book she was given, scribbling with the crayons that came with it.

Once they landed, Snape managed to herd the children successfully to the luggage pick up, grabbing their bags with little to no effort and made it to where they were to find the section that would help them purchase the next best way out of Paris for the next day or the day after, whichever one was the best choice with availability.

Speaking in fluent French, which surprised his nieces and nephews, Snape was able to not only find the next leg of their journey, but also a hotel that would be suitable for them to stay in until then.

"I didn't know you could speak French!" Elijah exclaimed with awe.

Snape smiles; "I can speak a few different languages actually. I just don't get to use it as often."

"Can you teach us?" Victoria asks with eagerness to be able to speak with such confidence as her Uncle.

"Wee-wee!" Ainsley squeals.

Snape laughs. "Look at that, Ainsley is speaking it already."

"All she said was wee-wee?"

"I'm going on the belief she meant to say _Oui_, which means '_yes_'," said Snape, tickling Ainsley's belly to make her giggle.

It doesn't take them long to find a suitable taxi to take them to their hotel.

Once they had checked in and found their room, it was safe to say that they were rather impressed.

"I am thinking, since we don't have to leave Paris until the day after tomorrow, we make today a rest day. We will just go down to the closest book or toy store, so you can pick a few easy to pack and carry activities, as well as some sweetshop or whatever, so we can grab some stuff to snack on. After we've rested up, we'll go to one of the restaurants we've seen that are close to the hotel, nice and simple, not to strenuous," Snape decides to say to the children, as they all went about selecting their areas of sleep and whatever else. "Tomorrow, if we all up to it, we could do some little sightseeing. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to us, Uncle," said Gabriel, smiling as much as he could. Severus could see he was just flat out tired.

Snape checks his watch; 9:12am.

"Which do you want to do first?" he asks them. "Freshen up and change into some fresher clothes, or go and get the stuff now, then once we come back, we can just veg out in our pyjamas for until it's time to get ready to go do dinner."

"We like the second option better," the three older kids say.

"Okay, I'll just change Ainsley's nappy and then we can get going."

That didn't even take more than ten minutes, so once they were all set, they left their hotel room and picked a direction that was easy to follow and started to try and locate a bookstore or a toy store, or even a sweetshop.

Their senses were dazzled with the delights of the many sights, sounds and even smells that the area of Paris they were in produced; just passing a bakery, with its freshly made buns, pastries and more was really teasing.

"We might get something on the way back," said Snape after he was asked whether they could get a fresh cream bun or croissant.

Finding the stores seemed to be easy enough, decisions on what to get, however, proved to be a bit of a challenge. They were quick to agree on getting a pack of basic playing cards – not the magic kind, and even finding _Uno_, a card game Snape was unfamiliar with, so the kids told him they can teach him.

"It is how we helped Gabriel to learn his numbers and colours," said Elijah.

"Well, if it helped you, Gabe, then we ought to try this out on Miss AJ," Snape smiles, taking a packet from the pile.

But trying to get Ainsley and Gabriel to understand what they couldn't have proved to be a slight headache. But were managed to settle on a couple of new colouring books, including one that had simple French words in it for Gabriel to try out if he wanted to.

Once that was done, along with everything else they needed, they were back at the hotel room. They had only been out and about for an hour and nearly a half, so it certainly made for good time.

"Now, we can just relax," Snape says, smiling at his nieces and nephews.

It wasn't hard to sort out who got to shower first in order to get into their pyjamas and move on to whatever it was they wanted to do that gave the ability to just veg.

###

Over in Scotland, where the Hogwarts Castle was located, a very unhappy Dumbledore was listening to the news of how the Snape family had slipped through.

"We do not know which plane they had boarded, as there were a good number taking off in the space of five to ten minutes in between a few, as well as boarding," said one of the Auror who were at the very Aberdeen airport of which the Snapes had been at.

"Did you at least get a list of where those planes were going?" the old wizard asks.

"There are a small handful of possibilities," said the other Auror, giving Dumbledore a hand written list of the flights and their destinations.

"Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Dublin, Ireland; Rome, Italy and Berlin, Germany," Dumbledore reads aloud.

"I still do not understand why we're putting resources on this?" said the first Auror.

"Yes, I thought you were very strong in your belief that Severus Snape was not a Death Eater anymore. He also had to take on his brother's children, because of what happened to him and his wife," said the second.

"What did happen to them?"

Dumbledore clears his throat at this exact moment; "Look, Chester and Trudy, I am just concerned for those children, that is all. I had told Severus that moving to them back to Australia would be a bad idea."

"Why is it any of your concern?" Trudy asks, frowning a little. "Especially when Severus is doing what is best for those kids?"

"I just believe they are better off staying here."

"Or you just want to not have to find yourself a new Potion Master, because we know how hard it is for you to keep the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts filled," Chester comments.

A small dangerous glint flickers in the brilliant blue eyes of the Headmaster.

"That is not it at all."

"Look, Albus," said Trudy, quite strong in her tone. "Unless you give us a really valid reason as to why we ought to notify the foreign Ministries to be on the lookout for this family, we cannot help you. Especially if they choose to settle in Australia, we cannot touch them, nor in any other country for that matter."

Dumbledore sighs heavily; "I had hoped to not have to show you this."

He slides a folder toward the Aurors; watching and waiting for them to open and see their response to the contents within...

* * *

_Dun dun dun!_

_Oh dear! What the heck are you doing Dumbledore? Far on out, man!_


	14. Nice Day Out and Uh oh

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you for your reviews Trickster32, Guest 1 and Guest 2._

_Trickster32: I guess ever since reading other people's theory, this Dumbledore really seems to be a rather conniving person, to say it nicely._

_Guest 1: I want them to get to Australia safely : - )_

_Guest 2: That's what I thought when thinking of their escape._

_Glad you each enjoyed reading and figuring out what is going to happen next. Don't have to wait a moment longer with this chapter, because it's here._

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Nice Day Out and Uh oh...

It was amazing on how refreshed one could be after a good, deep sleep. That was exactly how Severus felt when he woke up the very next morning, along with a nice hot, steaming shower. He would love to have a fresh coffee, but he would have to wait for that, instead went about waking the children up, starting with Elijah.

Turned out everyone had a good sleep, because everyone was rather perky and peppy and downright happy. Even with the situation and how they had to go about it, the feeling of light had started to overcome the family of five.

"Right, let go down for some breakfast, then right on after we can take in some of the sights of Paris," Severus tells the kids, once he finished fixing up Ainsley's shoes up.

"Considering we have an awesome view point of the Eiffel Tower," Victoria grins, pointing out of one of the windows that made a nice beeline shot of the famous tower not too far in the distance.

"I would love to see the Menagerie, they have a sanctuary of sorts there," Gabriel announces.

"There's also an aquarium from what I saw in the brochures," said Elijah.

"And a science museum!" Victoria adds, her grin getting a lot bigger on this.

"How about we start with what is closest to us and work our way around? I cannot make any promises that we will see everything, though, as we will have to make enough time to get back to our room to sort things out for our next leg," Severus told them.

"May we get a souvenir or two while we are here?" Victoria asks.

Severus thought it over; "Make you a deal. As long as they not expensive, or too big, I will allow each of you a souvenir for each area we go on between here to Australia."

"Deal," said the three older children.

"Dee!" Ainsley shoots her hand up.

They started off by finding a taxi and Severus speaking in French to the driver, asking if there were any good places that would excite the children. The taxi driver smiled kindly and said that instead of showing on area, he'd show them a good number of excellent sights and for less the price than he would generally charge. Partly because of Severus's excellent fluency in his French and the politeness of the children – and their trying to learn the language as well, Severus made the mention of it.

They were taken on a taxi tour to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and Arc-de-Triomphe, just to name a few, until they reached one of the ice rinks that were open during the winter around Paris. It wasn't really on the original list of ideas on what to do and see, but all figured why not!

Turned out Victoria had a raw talent for skating. When Severus asked about later when they went for hot chocolate, Victoria admitted that she used to rollerblade a lot back when her Dad and Mum were alive, to where she was starting out for a few months in ice-skating.

"Would you like to get back into it?" he asks his niece.

"I'll think about," said Victoria.

"No pressure," said Severus. "Probably best to start thinking on what activities you'd like to either get back into, or try out, for when we do get home."

"Am I mistaken in what I just heard coming out of your mouth?" said Elijah, surprised and smiling.

"You heard just right, Eli," said Severus, smiling in return.

Each of the children had found a little souvenir they liked that would remind them of their little tour in Paris, France, before heading to their hotel to rest up, and get things ready for their next flight out of Paris and on to Rome, Italy.

"Uncle Severus?" said Elijah a little later when it was just him and Severus wake, while the rest were all asleep.

"Yes, Eli?"

"I know it's only been like a day, or something, but... do you miss being there?"

"To where? Hogwarts?"

Elijah nods.

Severus thinks on this.

"It is a fair question. The fair answer would be part of me will miss not only Hogwarts, but the United Kingdom itself. It was your father's and my home for as long as we called it such. We were both born there, in England and we both attended Hogwarts. We both chose paths that needed to be chosen in one way or another that seemed like sense to us.

"However, the other part of me will not. I have been so tied up with what I was doing, burying myself. I didn't think there was really much choice, my fate was sealed, that was that, being forever told that there was no other choice for me to make. Even though I had others telling me otherwise, not just your father, but a few who have chosen to go on different paths, away from what they were first thought was 'the only way', only to find and see differently when they were away from it. I suppose my gut was also telling me something was off, but I didn't want to face it, plus believing it must be for different reasons. Especially over the last couple of years.

"Do I regret making this choice? No. Not for a second. I lost my brother and the ability to make things right with him, but I feel that by having you in my life, I am able to, in ways, patch up what I had lost, with what I was able to find. You four give me so much hope that there is something much better. Something your father had tried to get me to see for a very, very long time."

Elijah nods, understanding his Uncle's words.

"Maybe it wasn't your time to see it back then?" he suggested.

"Maybe," said Severus, with a small smile. "Guess things have a funny way of presenting themselves when they're already staring right at you, just had to knock the blinkers off to fully understand it. Fate, karma, whatever people call these things."

"I think karma is more when you do something bad it comes back to bite your backside tenfold," said Elijah.

"I guess I had my fair share of that then," said Severus, with a slight sigh.

"You're not a bad person, Uncle Severus," Elijah says strongly. "At least, I don't think so."

"I have done terrible, terrible things Elijah," Severus looks away, not really focusing on anything in particular.

"Like what?"

Severus hesitated.

Elijah could see his Uncle tossing up on whether to even say anything of what he has done in his past.

"Things that I am not proud of."

"Did you kill people?"

Severus was taken aback by the outward question, staring right at his nearly fourteen year old nephew. He wanted to verbalise, he really did, but instead, the old Potions Master just lowers his head and gaze, before nodding meekly.

Silence filled the entire room, except perhaps a ticking clock somewhere in the distant room.

Elijah puts a hand on Severus's shoulder.

"That was a different person, Uncle. He doesn't really exist anymore. This person, the one who has taken me and my sisters and brother in, is not that person. This person would have a different reason to want to hurt someone, but only if he really had to. You have a good soul. It just needs to be polished a little more to be able to see the really good."

Severus looks back up at his nephew; "I think that polishing started the day I picked you four up from the department that was holding you safe until I was able to collect you. I just don't know if I can really be fully forgiven for my sins."

"Dad forgave you. I forgive you. I am sure Vicky, Gabbo and AJ will when they, in time, learn of that chapter in your life. I think you just need to work on forgiving yourself."

To hear this young teen speak, it was as if a young man was coming on out.

"When did you become so wise?" Severus asks.

Elijah shrugs. "No idea."

The Uncle and Nephew give the other a tight hug, both for comfort and reassurance. Severus felt an extra bit of weight lifting from his shoulders. He had a fair ways to go, but with each passing hour of being away from there, he was feeling freer, and more and more able to focus on ridding the heaviness that he has been carrying for way too long.

###

"Excuse me, sir, may I ask for you to come with us?"

Severus frowns a little at the request from the security guard. The Snapes had just checked into the airport and passed all of the security check points, before heading to the terminal to wait out the two hours before boarding.

"Are you expecting me to leave my children alone?" he was careful asks.

"No, no," the security guards says. "They would need to come with, too, of course."

"Are we in trouble?" Gabriel asked, confused.

"I promise you we are not carrying any bombs or narcotics on our persons!" Victoria speaks in a very confident, yet worried voice, with her hands up. "You can get a sniffer dog to prove we're not."

"You've been watching too much _Border Patrol_!" Elijah grumbles, placing his face into his palm.

"At least you're being very honest, Miss, but no, you children are not in trouble," said the guard, with a small smile.

"Then why are you asking us to come with you? Last I checked, I do have a right to know," said Severus, keeping his voice even and calm.

"We just wish to run a background check. We pull random people aside who are looking to leave the country, who've just entered from various locations of the UK," said the guard.

"What kind of background check?"

"Can you please just come with me?" the guard was trying to keep her voice down, but a tone of urgency was in her voice.

Thinking they had better do as the guard had asked, the Snape family went with her. She led them swiftly to a set of doors, until they were taken to a single room, which had a desk and a couple of chairs, and closing the door after she flipped the little sign swipe over from free to occupied.

"What is going on?" Severus asks.

Before their eyes, the guard changed her appearance, her brown hair changing to a dark shade of blonde, her square jaw narrowing a little to show she was actually a bit more rounded in the chin and jaw line, and even her shape changed just enough to reveal that she was under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion.

"Trudy Holland?" Severus speaks, unable to hide his alarm.

Trudy places her hand up to signal a form of 'calm yourself' to the anxious man, and no doubt worried children.

"I am here to help, as is the person I am with, Chester Bryson," she quickly explained. "You may have noticed us at Aberdeen airport."

"Are we in trouble?" Elijah asks. "Because it feels as though the moment our Uncle decided to make the choice to move us back to Australia, we've been treated as though we are committing some crime for wanting to be happy."

"The threat of being taken away from Uncle Severus was made," said Victoria, taking a hold of her Uncle's free hand. (He was holding Ainsley). "We were told that our Uncle would be in trouble for making the choice of wanting what was best for us."

"That is why I am here, because I don't believe for a moment that what we were given as evidence to detain and extradite you back was really true. Plus the fact that you were a fellow Slytherin student until I reached my fourth year, you turned Professor when I came back to start my fifth. You may have had a reputation, but I also learned how that changed over the years, despite the charade of being a big bad brooding bat. I still remember hearing a story how he once had a photo of you two on his desk in his office," she looks at Elijah and Victoria.

"You did?" said Victoria, looking at Severus.

Severus nods. "I kept every photo your father and mother sent to me of you four, because I wanted to still know you somehow. It was the same with the letters that came with the photos."

"Is that how you knew I liked horses?"

"Yes, Victoria, it is how I knew," said Severus, giving her hand a light squeeze. "As well as you liking cricket and animals, Gabriel, as well as your goal to be able to get into a field that helps people, Elijah."

Each one of the three older children smiled at this. Ainsley then gives her Uncle this big frown from her brown eyes. It was as though she felt left out, by which Severus gives a small chuckle.

"And how I knew that you were born in March and you love kitty cats!" Severus places his cheek on her head, this satisfied the toddler.

"Then why were you trying to find us?"

"We were told that a man had kidnapped four children from the school and were given descriptions. When we found out via other sources on who we were actually looking for, we had to do a bit more digging and spoke to the person who was of most concern for the children's welfare," Trudy explains, she remained steady and truthful.

"How do we know you are not telling us lies? Severus asks.

Trudy produces a small vile, within it a transparent liquid of sorts, that could resemble water. It was still sealed.

"I bought this along, because in case asked that question, you Professor Severus Snape, would know exactly what this is and what it does. So, if you felt that it was really necessary, I have no hesitation in taking it, just so you can see for yourself that Chester and I are here to help you."

"Veritasium," Severus said without question or doubt in his tone.

"Truth potion," said Elijah.

Trudy nods.

"Then why do you have us in this room?" Severus then asks.

"Because it seems that certain members of the British Ministry want your head over false allegations on child abuse and whatever else that have been supposedly committed by you," Trudy answers, this time showing a folder and handing it to Severus.

Severus let go of Victoria's hand to take it; Elijah took a hold of Ainsley to make it easier for him to open it to see what was within.

Shock was the first thing to hit, then anger and swiftly followed by sheer hurt and betrayal.

"This is not true," he said.

Elijah peered over and his jaw dropped.

"This isn't true! He's never done that to us. He's never murdered our parents, either! They died from a freak accident while they were out on a date night."

"Not according to the very man who gave this to me and Chester," Trudy said bleakly and also apologising within.

"I don't suppose you put Veritasium in his pumpkin juice?" Severus was rather cool when he said it.

Trudy shook her head. "No. But, that is perhaps another reason why I bought this potion, as well as a few other things that we're going to help make sure that you are cleared of what you're being accused of."

A knock on the door, Trudy opens it and a man with rather broad shoulders and chin, as well as boasting a brilliant pair of dark blue eyes came on in. With him, he was carrying a small briefcase.

"I take it you told them?" he asks.

"Yes Chester," said Trudy, nodding.

"Well, not everything. You knocked before she could explain in full on what we're actually to be doing," said Severus.

"Make yourselves comfortable and trust that us," said Trudy, as she pulls out six cups, a bottle of juice and then hands Severus these, plus the potion. "Because I believe that it's best that you do it."

Taking the chance, Severus began to pour the juice and then added the right amount of drops in each of the designated cup that was for himself, his two nephews and eldest niece, as well as Trudy and Chester.

Everyone had a drink, Ainsley felt left out, so they quickly gave her a bottle from her bag.

"Now," said Chester. "Can you each state your full names...?"

"Severus Andreas Snape..." Severus began to lead the way.

* * *

_Nice little twist at the end of this chapter for you. There was just no way could I let the two Aurors be the bad guys here, it just didn't feel right. But seems the same couldn't be said about the Ministry. Guess the old git, Dumbledore has a fair bit of influence and quite enjoys his position... and we call Voldemort the manipulative one. Doubt it; at least the bald guy with no nose is actually dead honest in his intentions... most of the time._

_So... what happens next? Who knows...?_


	15. Winds of Change

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you to Meester Lee, ifbofjig, Guest, Trickster32 and t42n24t2 for your reviews._

_Ifbofjig: No, no set schedule, more of when I get around to writing the chapters and then posting them. If it helps in the next couple of weeks I will be slowing down, until just after Easter. (My eldest kids have school holidays so it's going to be hectic with them and the younger ones all at home, plus working on the prequel – "Family Ties; Julius and Severus", first chapter is up if any are interested)._

_I thought some of you would have liked that twist : - )_

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Winds of Change

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LET THEM GO?"

No emotion was shown on either Trudy Holland's face, (nor were there any display from Chester Bryson), as she held up the folder they were given by Dumbledore, along with another that they, the Aurors, had conducted themselves.

"You didn't think we wouldn't do our jobs thoroughly did you?" she asked the Headmaster. "That we would just go on your word and whim, without taking various and certain measures that will get to the bottom of what has been going on?"

She placed the one she and Chester had put together on Dumbledore's desk and slid it over to him.

"Some of us actually do believe in doing what is right, Albus. You preach about making the right path, over the easy one. Along with many other wise words you are so famous for. Perhaps weren't thinking that many would take you up on them and do just that," said Trudy.

"Interesting on how well you do as you preach, Professor," Chester adds; "Or lack thereof."

A slow simmering could be seen, as they watched Dumbledore examine the paperwork within his hands.

"How do you know he's not lying? That he didn't impel the children to lie?"

"We used Veritasium and recorded everything we did and said," said Chester, producing a tightly corked, unbreakable potion bottle, and a small little coin looking object to show Dumbledore.

"The use of Veritasium, unless authorised by certain members of the Ministry is illegal," Dumbledore spoke with contempt.

"In the United Kingdom, it is," Trudy reminds him. "We were in France when we secured this. With the generous cooperation from the French Ministry, I must add. Also knowing that it doesn't really matter how the Veritasium is ministered, we all know that the truth is simply that, the truth, in its fullest form."

The Headmaster sat back, staring right at the folder within his hands, shaking his head with disgust.

"You know that no one will believe this, right? Those who listen to my word," he then goes to say.

"You forget that it doesn't matter whether we are believed by those who are foolish enough to listen to your own agendas on everything. It matters only on what the evidence gives and where you can legally stand in this situation," said Trudy, unwavering.

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE?" Dumbledore booms. "I needed that man to do the one thing that many could not! Just like I need Lupin, McGonagall and many others to do what their roles are in this entire preparation of what is to come!"

"By falsifying facts about a man who cares for his family?" Chester interjects.

"I had to do something!" Dumbledore spat. "He was going to make the biggest mistake by choosing those children over what he promised to set out to do, if the time came. Those children poisoned his mind against what is more important here. Just like that woman did to his brother! Still kept doing to him by bearing those children! That is why I had to do something to that family! Especially after learning about Julius's plans to come here and reunite with Severus! I couldn't allow him to talk Severus into turning against me and the cause!"

"So tried to have the entire family killed?"

"No! I wanted to scare them, just enough to stay away!"

"But your plan backfired and caused four children to be without their parents," Trudy jabbed her words, quiet fury in her tone, keeping calm.

Chester's eyes were steely like.

"Does it matter now? You cannot prove anything," said Dumbledore, a little smug.

Chester and Trudy looked at each other for a moment, in brief silence. Dumbledore pulls out his wand and within seconds the folder that held the evidence the Aurors were able to collect was disintegrated into nothing but dust.

"I no longer have time for you, or your incompetence in following my instructions that are truly of my own concern for the welfare of those children," he speaks as though the entire conversation and actions of before didn't happen, he gets up from his chair and walks around the desk to stand in front of the pair. "I shall have to find someone who can do just that. I will see you out."

Trudy and Chester allowed Dumbledore to lead them all the way out of his office; ensuring he went before them down spiralling staircase and into the beginning of the corridor. Only to find that they couldn't go any further, because standing before them was almost the entire school, including members of the staff.

Their faces were almost matching with the mix of shock, disgust, anger and other ways to describe the distain they were feeling right now. Dumbledore's face paled.

"We heard everything..." McGonagall's voice was shaking.

"How?" Dumbledore dared to ask.

Chester and Trudy both reached into their robes and pulled out a set of microphones that were made so they could capture every single sound from Fawkes's silent squawks to the fullness of the words that had been exchanged between Dumbledore and the Aurors.

"Some of us even saw," said Lupin, showing a mirror of sorts, that didn't reflect back, instead showed a nice perfect view of Dumbledore's office, where his desk was.

"What exactly can you all possibly do to me? I am still the Headmaster of this school," said Dumbledore, almost as if he was in some form of denial that anything was even wrong.

He went to turn back to go back into his office, only to find that the Gargoyle had gone back into place.

"Sugar quills," he said to it.

But the gargoyle remained idle. Unmoving.

"Sugar quill," Dumbledore tried again.

Still nothing.

"Albus Dumbledore, you're coming with us," said Chester, taking the old man via one arm, while Trudy took the other.

The crowd parted to allow them to pass through.

"Oh!" Trudy then said; as if to suddenly remember, but smiling. "That file you destroyed? That wasn't the only one we had."

###

News of what had happened had spread like wildfire. Dumbledore didn't go to Azkaban, but he was placed under permanent house arrest, where his magic abilities were limited to various small tasks. He wasn't allowed out of the one bedroom styled house. He was allowed to still receive varying items, such as his favourite Muggle sweet, sherbet lemon, and the news of what was going on in the world, but that was it. Even his wand was confiscated, and replaced with an inferior replica that could do the small, limited spells he was allowed to do, but even _that_ was weakened.

Professor Minerva McGonagall was placed as Headmistress of Hogwarts, where she named Professor Flitwick as Deputy Headmaster, after offering the role to him, Professor Sprout and one other Professor, Professor Procter, she believed to be just as deserving of the role. It did come down to much discussion between these three to finally come up with the conclusion that Flitwick was the best person for the job, which he humbly accepted and even congratulated Spout and Procter for their being named for the honour he was given.

Not everything was done yet. There was still the need to find a new Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin House.

McGonagall did her best to find someone worthy of this role. An old teacher, before Severus Snape had taken the position, decides to step in. Professor Horace Slughorn.

"I shall do what I can, Minerva," he said. "I cannot promise I will stay on forever, but I will for as long as I am needed. Be you find someone to take my place, or I retire once more that would have you take on a new Professor, whichever comes first. I do hope I can do this school proud once more."

"Thank you, Horace. That is most kind of you," Minerva said, meaning it deeply, for she knew that Horace also meant his words too.

He may be a tad selfish and had a reputation of 'collecting' people, but he was still a good man, in his own interesting way. He never agreed with the whole purity of the blood, nor did he agree with division as much as those of his house may have. He was, even though no officially, helpful to those who were in the Order of the Phoenix during the first war. He foresaw who needed to be kept an eye out for within the school, before they were out in the real world to carry on the battles.

Plus, he was a friend to Minerva and some of the other staff. Not to mention valuing talent where he found it.

"I also promise to make sure Remus Lupin gets his potion," he adds. "He's a good man and good at what he does. I hope he is able to stay one, for I've grown rather fond of him as a person."

"Again, thank you," said Minerva.

The other thing that had changed since the change was the interaction of the students. Everyone was so shocked that they seemed to have forgotten what House they were talking to. Slytherins were talking to Gryffindors! It was as if things had started in ripples since the Snape children had stepped into the school that led to their old Potions Master, Severus Snape to change for the better, which in turn, rippled back into the school. Exposing what had been wrong in the first place, but blinded by it, because it wasn't obvious until now.

Ronald Weasley and those who gave the Snapes a hard time, one by one, saw how stupid they had been; literally kicking themselves. It was enough for the slow process of forgiveness and possible return to friendships for these students.

"I hope that Snape is a lot happier now," Hermione says, almost wishfully and absentmindedly.

"You're not the only ones," said Draco, with agreement.

"I hope he can come by and visit," said Pansy.

"I wonder what will happen now," Harry then says.

"What do you mean?" asks Ron.

Harry shrugs a little. "Not sure really. I mean, what will your parents do? Now that you're talking to the likes of us? Won't they revolt?"

This got Draco and Pansy thinking for a moment.

"We will deal with it as it comes, Harry," Hermione speaks up for them, giving them both a small smile, which was returned.

"I feel that it is the winds of change," said Draco, nodding in agreement.

* * *

_Notes: I felt that this entire chapter had to be dedicated to what you've just read. Please no hate, lol._


	16. Where shall we go to next?

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you Guest, Trickster32 and t42n24t2 for you reviews; t42n24t2 you will get to see what happens to the Snape family. I think these next couple of chapters, except for a snippet, are going to be on the light hearted side and more in concentration to the family, perhaps even with individual scopes, like perhaps a chapter dedicated to one of the siblings or Snape for example. Trickster32 – I know! That's what is quite amusing. Not sure if he's ever going to get reunited with it again though... I hope not._

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

Where shall we go next?

The Snape family was fully oblivious to the happenings back in the United Kingdom, opting to spend a good few days in Rome, Italy, taking in the sites the capital city had to offer. This was compliments of the Aurors who've helped them out, knowing the right channels and connections to offer safe passage to Australia, but doing so at one leg at a time, and making sure they were in the rest spots for a certain period of time.

They were told by Chester and Trudy they didn't know what was going to happen, so it was best to just keep low and take the different routes and options out of Italy.

"We want you safe," said Trudy, before they left the room they did the interviews in, to allow the family to get on board their plane. "We will also get word to the people you're concerned for, your friends, in Australia, to let them know to expect you a little later than first planned, because of this, to keep those who are like to be in certain pockets off your scent."

"Thank you," said Severus graciously.

This was on his mind for most of the flight over, but once landed and heading to the hotel that the Auror's had booked especially for them, because they knew it wasn't on the radar for certain 'most obvious locations', he was able to focus on the children.

"Since we have until Thursday to go on whichever direction we decide to take, we can take our time to really enjoy this place," he tells them.

He wanted to try and help them move on from the devastation of what they learned about the fate of their parents and how it happened in the first place. Even Snape felt heartbroken by it. Betrayed. To be told that he disgusted the person who carried out the acts that lost him his brother, and to find out the real reason as to why he wanted to take the children away from Severus! It made him sick to the stomach.

"Can we each have a pick of where we'd like to go?" Gabriel asks, trying to look excited.

"You may," said Severus. "You can look at all the brochures that were located in the lobby and decide from there, we'll make a day out of each, including today, if that is what you'd like to do."

"I already know that I would like to see the Sistine Chapel," said Victoria, whose face looked a bit splotchy from on and off crying for most of the flight.

"Yeah, me too," said Elijah, nodding.

"And the Colosseum!" said Gabriel.

"Both sound like the will take up full days," said Severus, with an encouraging smile. "I know it may be possible to book a tour with both if we do it right?"

"Sure," the children agree.

This they did, managing to get the Colosseum for the next day, (Tuesday), and the Vatican Sistine Chapel for the Wednesday.

"Now that is sorted, what would you like to do?" Severus then asks.

"We can do what we did in France? Explore the book stores and stuff?" Elijah suggested.

"I'd love to look at the clothes stores, if that's okay?" Victoria speaks.

"I think that can be a possibility," Severus agreed.

Ainsley just seemed to want to go to whoever she felt needed hugs and would make them carry her, until she felt satisfied to go to the next person.

They explored the areas around their hotel and were gratefully able to forget, even just for a while, their sorrow.

"How about a shirt each from this first day?" Severus asked.

They had reached a clothes shop that sold children's clothing.

"Or a cap?" said Elijah, seeing the baseball caps.

Severus didn't object.

The children made their selection, including Ainsley, who was drawn to a nice jumper with a lamb on it.

It was definitely a welcome distraction. As was the tours they took of the Sistine Chapel and Colosseum the following days; each getting a small memento of their ventures from Rome, Italy.

"We have a choice of which place to go next to keep them off our backs," Severus then tells them on their last night. "We can go to Berlin, Germany. The other option is to go to Singapore, which will be a longer flight than to the third and last option, New York, United States."

"Well, if we took the flight to Berlin, we would then have to move on to Tokyo, which takes us to Sydney, or Mumbai, on to Singapore and then to Perth," Elijah points out. "Straight to Singapore maybe long, but we have the option of either Indonesia or straight to Perth. From New York, if we went that way, we'd be going to California and then on to Honolulu and fly to Brisbane."

"We were also told to take the least likely route we'd go on, because of supposed spies or whatever," said Victoria.

"Feels like we're in a crime novel or something," said Elijah.

"Just call me Carmen," said Victoria with a smile.

"Can't we go to Disneyland?" Gabriel pipes up, looking at the maps and the outlines of which directions of each route they were given. "I would love to go!"

Ainsley slaps the drawing picture of the Disney's castle.

"It isn't the most direct route, going to New York, then California and so on," Severus speaks carefully.

"But we won't be using magic if we do," said Elijah. "Not that it is a bad thing, when you think about it. But we'd also stand out less, come off as British tourists spending Christmas time in America. The traces that we've had on us would also be off of us."

"The trace was off you since we entered Rome," Severus points out.

"I know," said Elijah. "But we know if we went the way of Mumbai, or even Tokyo, our traces might be picked up by the British sector located in those areas, while if we went to United States, we won't be noticed not as much." Then said after a brief pause; "Plus it would be nice to see the Statue of Liberty and Disneyland."

"Then it is settled," said Severus.

###

The time in the United States also meant that they would have gone back in time, with the different time zones. This did throw off those who didn't believe that Dumbledore deserved the fate he got and were rather happy to still track down the Snape family, including the Minister of Magic, who only did the following of placing the old wizard under house arrest to save face.

"We have our best and well trusted people on the job," Fudge convinces Dumbledore.

"What of Trudy Holland and Chester Bryson?"

"What about them?"

"Have you done what you said you would do?"

"Oh! Definitely!" said Fudge, not looking directly at the other man.

Dumbledore frowns; "You're lying, Cornelius."

Fudge looked right at Dumbledore. "It will happen, eventually, Albus. You understand how things have changed since this has come to light. Not to mention we still need whatever resources we need to find Sirius Black!"

"You've still got those Dementors posted at my school, don't you?"

"Last I checked Dumbledore, you are no longer the Headmaster, after you admitted to the crimes you've committed and nearly the entire school believed you to be no longer fit for the position. I am sorry, Albus, but that is the truth."

Dumbledore didn't like what he had been just told, but thanked Fudge for his honesty.

"What do you intend to do?" he then asks the Minister of Magic. "When you get a hold of Severus and the children?"

"Severus will likely to be sentenced to be placed under a permanently fixed Imperius charm or similar. The children taken from his care and into the hands of those who would use them as pawns to make sure Severus Snape will do as he is told!" Fudge explains; voice so indifferent. "I know how important it is to make sure that we have eyes where we need them, Albus."

"The question remains, will it be believed that Severus came back on his own will? Even the children?"

"You know full well that we can be very, very persuasive," Fudge had a smug expression as he said the words.

All Dumbledore did was nod and reply; "Do what you can, Cornelius."

"Soon, once everything is set right, you'll be out of there, in the position you're meant to be in before this whole debacle took us by surprise. It isn't the first time this has happened, remember? Julius made that mistake, and it cost him his life, and that of his wife's. Severus will learn that if he doesn't do as he is supposed to, then he will share a similar fate and those children will simply be well and truly without people to care for them and they would be play-dough in our hands to mould how we wish...like the rest of them once we get things back to how they should be."

"Not totally convinced you'll be able to sway Minerva and those who rallied around her, including students," said Dumbledore.

Fudge waves a hand of impatience. "Not to worry, Albus!"

"That is what you said last time, and I ended up in here," said Dumbledore, unimpressed.

###

"Happy birthday!"

Elijah awoke to find his brother and two sisters crowded around the bed he and Gabriel were sharing in their hotel room.

"Thank you," said Elijah.

"What do you want to do today?" Gabriel asks.

"I would love to do that Animation Academy they have here," Elijah says after thinking over on what he wanted to do. "As well as that Jungle Cruise." He pushed his covers back and sat up. "Where is Uncle Severus?"

"He's just in the bathroom, said something about taking advantage of the great water pressure they have here," said Victoria. "But he did want us to wake you up so we can get ready to head out."

"Yeah, I wanna see if I can see Goofy at Goofy's Kitchen!" said Gabriel with excitement. Then he remembered. "That is if you want to, Eli."

Elijah just laughed and messed with his little brother's hair. "I'll just be happy to eat a decent breakfast, never mind where it is right now."

"So if we decided to go dine with Oscar the Grouch?" Victoria asks grinning.

Elijah rolls his eyes. "Let's just start getting ready."

* * *

_Author's note: For once nothing to really add here, except I hope you're doing well._


	17. Breakfast with a Princess

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you Susan M. M and Trickster32 for your reviews._

_Trickster32 – as mentioned in PM, it certainly has that vibe._

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

Breakfast with a Princess

Who knew Severus Snape, of all people, would have this sudden appreciation for the wonderful world of Disney? But that is what had happened. All of it started the night they reached the hotel and his amazement at the castle that was the jewel, where Mickey was the King, and Minnie, his Queen.

The following day, being Elijah's fourteenth birthday, seemed to really open up this little spark he didn't think he ever had. Little by little, Severus got even more of an 'education' of one man's start of a dream that turned into something far, far more, beginning with a single mouse.

Once the children were dressed and ready, they went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast and the wonderful smell of freshly made food hit their noses with delight. There was an omelette station, pancakes and waffles on offer and many other choices. Mouths were salivating here.

"Good morning, I am your waitress for this morning," spoke a woman with a nice smile when she approached the family. "May I take you to your table?"

"Please," say Severus.

They were led to a vacant table that had the sign 'reserved' on it.

"You got a table reserved?" Elijah asked surprised and impressed.

"Booked it last night," said Severus, after thanking the waitress, who said she was going to get a highchair for Ainsley.

"No wonder why you wanted to come here, you knew!" Elijah says to Gabriel, who grinned.

"You told him?" Severus asks the eight year old.

"Well, no. I just said I wanted to go do Goofy's Kitchen, I didn't say you made any calls," said Gabriel, still grinning.

The waitress came back over with the highchair.

"The buffets are self-serve, but there is a menu of the items that are not," she speaks, politely, indicating to the small folded menus in the centre. "Drink, for example. I am happy take those orders upon your request during your service here."

"Excuse me, Miss," Victoria speaks up.

"Yes?"

"Is it okay if we have photos with whoever comes in? I mean the characters?"

The waitress nods with a smile. "If you like, you might get an opportunity to do so, yes. The characters will pass through the area and stop if asked or needed."

"Do you know which characters might be in today?" Gabriel pipes up.

"I think there is a chance of a few of the Princesses, but I cannot be certain," said the waitress, trying to think. "There is no real set schedule or roster."

Gabriel nods. "That's cool, just thought I'd ask."

The waitress nods before noticing someone trying to flag down a wait staff member.

"I will leave you to your choices of the menu, if you would like, and will check in on you from time to time. Just flag me if you need anything," she says. "Excuse me.

With the waitress thanked, the Snape family went to make their choices of what they wanted from either the buffets or the menus.

Breakfast was just near on perfect. There was a walk threw of varying characters; the waitress was correct, they were Disney Princesses, four of them all up today.

"Oh my gosh! It's Jasmine!" Victoria awed at the sight of _Aladdin's_ Princess Jasmine.

"And Belle, Tiana and the newest Rapunzel!" Elijah notes.

"Yeah, I know! But Jasmine's the one with the tiger!" said Victoria.

"And Belle's got the library!" Gabriel reminds her.

"Yeah... but... I want the tiger!"

Severus suppresses a laugh.

Ainsley sees the Princess Tiana going by and places her arms out toward her, which didn't go unnoticed.

"My what a pretty Princess," she comments.

Ainsley grins, wrinkling her nose. "Ti-ti!" she says.

"It's her way of saying Tiana," Elijah couldn't help saying.

"Well, it's a nice way, I am sure," says Tiana.

"May we get a photo of you with Ainsley?" the fourteen year old asks Tiana, and then turns to his Uncle. "If that is okay."

"Only if the Princess allows it," Severus simply answers, still unsure of the full rules of the place.

"I don't mind, part of the fun," Tiana smiles. "If you like I can have a photo with all of you?"

"Yeah! That'll be great! Can we Uncle?" Victoria asks. "If that is okay with Eli?"

Elijah shrugs. "I just want a good day today."

"It's his birthday today," Gabriel blurts out to Tiana, before Elijah could stop him.

"Well, happy birthday," says Tiana to Elijah. She then pulls out a small wrapped gift from the little frog shaped basket she had with her, (something the Snapes had all noticed of all four visiting Princesses). "This is what we usually like to give to anyone who is having a birthday around here, whether it's a quiet affair or a big bash."

"Thank you," said Elijah, blushing a little.

"Of course you three do not go empty handed," Tiana adds to the other children, giving them each a choice of Princess and the Frog themed hair accessories, a small necklace, a badge or fancy shoe laces.

"What do you say," Severus reminds the children when they made their choices.

"Thank you!" said Victoria and Gabriel.

"Dankoo" says Ainsley, wrinkling her little nose again, before examining her new hair clip, (Severus didn't think it was appropriate for her to have a necklace and she seemed to be drawn to the green and pale yellow bow with Tiana in frog form on it).

"You are most welcome."

The photos were taken, before the Princess made her leave.

"That was just awesome!" said Gabriel.

"Yes, I will agree to that," said Elijah, grinning as well.

"What did you get Eli?"

Elijah was curious. "Don't know."

"Well, open it!"

With a chuckle, the older boy opens the gift and within was a small plush Louis the Alligator.

"Cute," he says, impressed and grateful.

"Mum would envy you," Victoria giggles.

"Why is that?" Severus asks with genuine curiosity.

"She had a crush on the alligator," said Victoria.

"Bit like your crush on Sebastian?" Elijah teased.

"Oh shush!" Victoria feels her cheeks go pick.

Breakfast was pretty well and finished not long after that. Severus gave Elijah mostly full reign of what they do for the day.

"Just keep in mind to not be over greedy and if I feel it is not really appropriate, you need to accept that I may say no," he explains to his nephew.

Knowing once again that this was their Uncle and Guardian wanting what was best and doing what he can to be fair, Elijah understood and accepted the terms.

"So, what would you like to do?"

"I know I would like to do the Jungle Cruise ride, so if we can fit that into the day, that would be great," said Elijah.

"I think we can manage, having the need to locate it, first," Severus smiles.

"Along the way to it, we could peak at what else there is, so that way there may be a chance of trying some of the other rides out, or see other cool stuff."

Severus liked the way Elijah was thinking.

The day was filled with promised excitement. While Elijah did make most of the choices, he was also fair to make sure his siblings had a good time, too; and of course his Uncle Severus, too, who got a little curious about the Pirates of the Caribbean – and got quite amused by the character playing Captain Jack Sparrow.

By the time they got back to their hotel room, they were tired, but in a good way.

"To think we have four more days of this," said Elijah, lying on his back on the couch.

"Can't complain," said Victoria. "These past number of days, or whatever it's been now, has been the most awesome so far."

"And after that, we're going straight on to Australia," said Severus. "But, we can deal with that when we get there. For now I believe it is time for some children to think of showering and getting into pyjamas, I will permit you to have the televisions on and just relax until you just fall asleep. We can order room service for the night."

"Sounds good," Elijah agrees.

###

The rest of the Disneyland adventure was pure bliss. Everyone got to do something worthwhile, and plenty of memories, in photos, items and simply in their minds.

Unfortunately, during their second last day, Severus had this sense of unease for the entire morning. It wasn't until closer to lunch when he saw them!

"Kids, we need to get to the hotel now!" he simply said.

"Why?" Gabriel asks.

"Just trust me," said Severus, securing Ainsley in a firm hold and taking hold of Victoria's hand. "Elijah you take Gabriel one way and we will meet you at the hotel lobby near the Fantasia shop."

"Why don't we just wait in the room?" Elijah then suggested. "You and I both have a key to get in."

Severus gave a split second think over and at the corner of his eye saw the people inching closer.

"All right, Gabriel, stick close to your brother. If you get to the room before we do, just start packing. We will do the same if we get there first. Just use the key to get in, whether or not you're there first or not."

With that understood, the family split up. Not wanting to be accidentally separated from his brother, Gabriel grabbed Elijah's hand.

The boys got to the room first and as instructed, started to pack their belongings. It was luck they listened to their Uncle on only keeping the minimum out at a time, to make it easier to just grab and go if needed – which is what they had been doing to entire trip, because of the possible situation like the one they were in now.

They were just about to start on their sister's bags when Severus, carrying Ainsley, and Victoria entered.

"You thought ahead, good," said Severus, gratefully.

"What do we do?" Elijah then asks.

"Stay here and keep packing, I'm going to get us checked out and order a taxi to get us to the airport," Severus instructs. "I will keep Ainsley with me, so that way it's easier for you to do what you need to do."

Heart-pounding to say the least at the next number of moments for the family. The taxi wasn't to arrive for another hour and a half, in that time this gave them enough time to make sure they had everything and simply wait for the call to let them know.

It was sheer moments of going from the room to the lobby and cross it to get to where the taxi was going to wait, for within that space the family was spotted by them. Wands were drawn; no one really took much notice of this. Severus didn't dare get his out, instead just ushered the children out and managed to get out of the way of a spell that was cast by one of them.

The taxi driver was already out of the car with the boot open, this seemed to help, for when they saw the family and the taxi driver... and the fact that they now had eyes on them... with many questioning whether some show was being performed, this allowed the Snapes to get in the taxi and slip away in time.

Once at the airport, they managed to book the next flight to San Francisco. It was not on the plan, but it was certainly a place they wouldn't be found.

"We will lay low here for two nights, and then we will fly out to Suva, Fiji on Thursday," Severus tells them once they've landed and gathered their luggage and managed to make the very booking where he needed to. In truth it was the first best flight that looked promising for the family that wasn't going to have the Ministry sniffing around for them; since San Francisco was not where they would like to wind up...

"That wasn't in the plan," said Gabriel, almost afraid he even voiced it.

Severus wasn't at all mad; he got his younger nephew to look at him. "I know. But I have a feeling our routes had been leaked and now we need to find a different way to get to where we need to go."

"Plus we'll be in a completely different time zone to them," Elijah points out. "Almost a full day ahead."

"And they would be in the belief we're in Hawaii," said Victoria.

They started on their way to exit to airport to get to the taxi bay.

"Exactly," said Severus. "I feel that our plan was hacked and also with some person's supposed logic on where I would take you children, or not take you rather, has come up. Dumbledore always seemed to believe that he just knows everything about a person, gets pretty annoyed when the very person doesn't quite do what he expects. Seen him through a hissy fit once."

"That old man threw a hissy fit?" Victoria asks, raising her eyebrows, trying to imagine the old wizard doing just that.

"Like a toddler!" said Severus, nodding, he then realised what he said and looked right at Ainsley; "You have more maturity, I can assure you."

Ainsley just gives him this look as if to wonder what he was even on about, before deciding to grab hold of his nose and say 'beep-beep'.

"Where to?" asks the taxi driver, when they reached their turn.

Severus gave the name of the hotel he was able to book a room at and they were off.

* * *

_Author's Note: I have never been to Disneyland, so I just made stuff up... and used their website to the best of my abilities to figure it out. But, hey, it's Disneyland!_

_As for the Ministry members, what idiots! (Yes I know there is the MACUSA but I am sort of pretending that it's different... more because my knowledge on it doesn't really compute much... sorry). I almost did write that they were going to get captured; I just didn't have the heart to do that._


	18. We're Finally Here

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you Trickster32, t42n24t2, Meester Lee and Guest for your interviews._

_Meester Lee – to be honest I think if this actually happened, you'd be right, lol._

_T42n24t2 – that would be interesting. Yes, let's hear it for the Muggles ; - ) ._

_Guest – I think you might get your wish with this chapter._

_Trickster32 – Who knows...?_

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

We're finally here!

"I cannot believe we're finally here!"

The plane touched down on the runway to the Brisbane International Airport, made its way to the terminal, and almost like they wanted to pinch themselves when they officially walked through the gates after customs, where they were met with Elijah's friend, Michael Graeme, and his father, Chris, in the waiting area for those who were picking people up.

"Severus Snape?" Chris said, extending a hand.

Severus took it. "Chris Graeme?"

"That would be me," Chris smiles. He had sandy blonde hair that was tinged with red and the same nose shape and chin as his son, Michael, bore. Not to mention rather tall!

"Great to see you safe on home turf, mate!" Michael said as he and Elijah exchanged high fives and pats on the back.

"We will be much safer once we get you five to the AusMin," said Chris.

"AusMin?" Severus frowns.

"Our way of saying Ministry of Australia, or Australian Ministry of Magic," Michael says.

"Don't worry, Uncle, you'll soon get used to the lingo here," Elijah assures.

"I am sure," said Severus, though a little doubtful.

He certainly was not expecting the wall of humid heat to hit him as they exited out of the airport to get to the parking lot.

"Mmm, I think I sense the possibility of rain," said Victoria, tilting her head up at the familiar feeling that she missed.

"Yeah, there's been rain on and off all month so far," said Michael. "Up north is really copping it at the moment."

"Not surprising, as they are in cyclone territory," said Elijah.

"No, by copping it, I mean really, really copping it, they've been getting downpours since November and have been getting flooded, because it's just been almost nonstop," said Michael. "We're getting it on and off; the most we get is about a day or two of no rain and then downpour. We haven't had a heatwave yet!"

"Really?" Victoria was surprised by this news. "No heatwave?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Severus dared to ask, being so used to the temperatures from the United Kingdom, unsure if he wanted to know about heatwaves just yet.

"At times it is, but where we are, it's the norm," Elijah explains, "as are storms."

"The different locations have their own unique weather style," said Victoria.

"Like Melbourne, it is known for its four seasons in one day!" Gabriel pipes up, grinning that he remembered this.

"Let's just say, you never get bored with the way Australia likes to behave at times where the weather is concerned," Chris grins.

They reached the eight seater van at this point.

"Right, I made sure Ainsley's car seat was placed in the middle of the middle row," Chris explained. "So, whoever needs to get in the backseats, best do so before we buckle Ainsley in." He sees the slight puzzlement on Severus's face. "Wizard or Muggle, matters not here, we obey the rules of the roads, which include appropriate seating for children seven years and under. Even slightly over, in cases."

Severus was glad to have been given the run down on that. Wizards in the UK didn't seem to be really all concerned for that sort of thing, but then... they don't all choose to commute via car. He was learning very quickly on how different this country was run and so far feeling rather at ease by it.

Once everyone was in the van, Chris drove on out of the area.

"AusMin's Brisbane branch is located in South Bank," he informs Severus.

"Is it the main office?" Severus asks.

Chris shakes his head. "Nah, Australia is so large, there isn't really a real main office per say, just branches in varying locations, such as North Queensland, for example, where the larger office up there is located in Townsville, with smaller ones spread out in certain other areas such as Port Douglas and Charters Towers. Each state and territory has a main office in the capital, or very close to, like ours being in South Bank, which is about fifteen minutes from the actual CBD. Whereas the one in Melbourne, theirs is located in the actual CBD, I think it is smack bang in the middle, or close to, will have to relook that up if you really like to know."

"What of your Minister of Magic?"

Chris shakes his head. "We have Ministers, certainly, but no real one leader, unlike the Muggos here, where they have a two party preferred system, with minor parties that feed into one or the other, with the leader of each is either the Prime Minister or the Opposition Leader. Currently the Muggo Prime Minister is Julia Gillard, who is Labor, while her Opposition is some drongo named Tony Abbott, from the Liberal Party.

"We of the Magic Lot don't have that. Each of the main office has a representative, who oversees the smaller ones that are connected to that, and they collaborate on what needs to go on in many things, from what us Magic Lot to how to handle the Muggos. We, the Magic Lot, also have a say in who ought to represent each branch. We sort of adopted that voting system from the Muggos here. Only difference is, we don't have to worry about being fined or jailed for not registering if we choose not to."

This surprised Severus a little. "The Muggles here get fined for not voting?" (He already figured out that Muggo was the Australian word for Muggle).

"Unfortunately," said Chris. "But, it doesn't seem to deter them; they just get on with it. I guess that's just how we are here in general."

The drive didn't take as long – but then it wasn't during one of the rush hours. Chris had pulled the van into an opening into a set of buildings, where other cars have been going into.

"Undercover parking," Chris said, seeing the curiousness from the man beside him. "Helps to blend in. Difference is we're not being charged an arm and a leg, and no Muggos can get in, unless they have special clearance to do so."

"You mean Muggles work in the Ministry?" Severus asked, almost gapping a little at the thought.

"Of course! Not everyone marries a fellow witch or wizard, falling for a Muggo instead, as it happens. They have as much right to work and interact within the areas of work we can offer them, so long as they follow the rules, of course. We don't see the reason to keep the Muggos who marry into our kind separated where it's not necessary."

"Vastly different to where I am from," said Severus.

"Yes, we know, we were friends with your brother, my wife and I," said Chris. "Our kids played with this lot sitting at the back of the van right now."

Chris found a spot for the van to be parked after going up two lots of ramps; Severus did take note that the levels were all marked with different colours.

"Is there a reason for the different colours?" he couldn't help asking.

"This level is for special visitors, the further in the facility you are, the more protected you are," said Chris. "For some reason it was believed that the colour green was appropriate for special visitors."

Everyone got out. Chris simply told the Snape family to just leave the luggage in the car, explaining they could retrieve them if needed, but for now, it was just simply organising what needed to be done.

The Graemes helped the Snapes get into the building that was attached to the multilevel car lot, using a lift, which opened up to a very clean carpeted area that had many doors along it.

"Still looks like a hotel passageway," Elijah comments.

Chris laughs. "Appearance isn't always what it seems, remember Eli."

"I know."

They walked down until they reached one of the doors almost halfway down, and Chris knocks on it. Moments later, the door was opened and a sophisticated woman appeared; her dark auburn hair was up in a tight bun, wearing a fresh clean navy coloured pencil skirt, lighter blue blouse and glasses that were equally sophisticated as she was.

"Good to see you managed to get here safely," she said, stepping aside to allow the seven to enter. "I am Kylie McDowell, the Rep-Min for the South East Queensland branch. We've all been expecting you; it was a matter of which part of our country you were going to enter into."

"You've been expecting us?" Severus repeated.

"We are very protective of our people, Mr Snape, and have no tolerance for anyone who wants to use corruptive measures upon them," Kylie explains, walking them through the large area that was a very large office area that had some divisional walls to make cubicles, yet the cubicles, of which some were occupied, were very well organised and structured to cater for whoever was working within them. Even some personal touches.

Severus nearly had to double take when he saw...

"You use computers?" the words just escaped him.

"Computers, televisions, whatever necessary ways to communicate, other than owls and floo," Kylie says, with an understanding smile. "We here have found ways to get around the electricity and work with it, rather than stick with the old ways of communicating."

"We did give you briefs of what we were able to work with," said Elijah.

"I know you did, I guess I wasn't fully prepared to see if for myself," said Severus.

Kylie speaks to assure; "It is okay, Mr Snape, a lot of those who've come here to escape from wherever they're trying to get away from... so long as they're not criminals of course, and there is good reasons to want to come here, actual legit reasons, and we always do background checks to the finest detail we feel is necessary, without intruding too much.

"When we learned from Elijah's friends and then yourselves, plus just recently before we lost contact from a Ms Holland and Mr Bryson, on what was going on, it was us who made sure that people who knew your brother and his wife in some shape or form were in the pointed locations we marked out for you. Once born in Australia, you're one of ours, if you marry one of us, you're one of ours. In your case, Mr Snape, you're brother and uncle, a relation, so to us, that counts you as being one of ours, for you saw the need to make sure these children are cared for and their welfare is paramount and foremost.

"Right in here, if you please."

The Snapes, along with Chris and Michael were ushered into a spacious room; there was a very large desk in here with comfy faux leather chairs.

"We conduct a lot of meetings and cases like this in here," Kylie explains. "Please sit where you're going to be most comfortable. The children can occupy themselves with the select books and activities we have in here." She gestures to a cupboard that was in the far end of the room.

"I'm tired and I'm hungry!" Gabriel whined.

"This won't take too much longer," Kylie assures.

"Tell you what, I can go to my desk and grab each of you a chocolate bar?" Chris offers, and then looks at Severus. "If that is okay?"

Severus nods; anything to help with the process. They were all tired, perhaps very jetlagged after all the many hopping from time zone to time zone and knowing they weren't quite at the end yet, as they had this to do first.

"Hey, they have board games in here!" Victoria grinned when she opened the cupboard.

"Which ones!" Gabriel said, almost forgetting his hunger and tiredness.

"Now that they are sorting themselves out, let us proceed with what needs to be done here," said Kylie.

On the table, where she would seat herself, were folders that were spread out evenly and seeming to be very much organised.

Severus sat in a chair that was to Kylie's left, Ainsley decided to slip out of her Uncle's arms and toddle over to where her brothers and sister were, and did his best to prepare for what was to come.

"Your occupation before coming here was teaching, correct?" Kylie started, not wasting time.

"That is correct," said Severus.

"Are you still interested in continuing on as an educator?"

Severus hadn't really thought about it. When he was back in the UK he really wasn't given much other option but to take on the position he was given as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin. Dumbledore told him that to take up any other occupation would be too risky and not worth it if it cost him his life.

"I don't know, to be honest. Teaching is all I know, Potions and Dark Arts being my specialties," Severus then confesses.

"Would you like to see if you can pursue something different?"

Again Severus was stumped.

"I don't know," he replies, almost embarrassed to admit.

Kylie didn't give the impression that she was going to chastise or think lowly of him for even speaking of this admission. If anything, she just smiles nicely and says;

"You have options to choose from, now. If you feel that teaching is no longer your calling or be part of your life, we can help you find a new path."

"But I need a job, to pay for things, to look after them," said Severus, looking over at the four children, well five if he included their friend who was with them., sounding almost insignificant and in sudden realisation just how dire things really were back in his old country.

"We do not expect you to suddenly start working overnight, Mr Snape," said Kylie.

"But..."

"Anyone who decides to leave a current job, who of which already live here, or is looking for a new one after just moving here, whatever the circumstance, after we approve of their arrival, that is, is given three months to decide what they wish to do. Stay in the field they know, which in your case, is teaching, or pursue a new one and we will provide the channels required to allow that to happen, such as any classes you may have to take, potential positions to help gain hands on experience within that field and so on.

"If the three months is up and you haven't decided by then, you just simply go back to the last job you had before, or field, as you would not be going back to England, I can assure you, and you must simply wait out about six to twelve months within that field, until you decide to take the three months, or less to try a different career.

"In the meantime, for those three months, you're provided an allowance each fortnight – we go on a fortnightly basis here when it comes to paydays for most fields, some are weekly and some a monthly, it just depends on what that job entails. This allowance will help cover for any groceries, clothing and certain service fees, amongst the varying items and requirements one needs to survive. None of that fend for yourselves stupidity here."

"What about schooling for the children?" Severus wished to know.

"We have several schools here in Australia that caters for the Wizarding community, instead of just one. We find this helps for the families who transfer during jobs or whatever the reasons to relocate, and it doesn't cause unnecessary strain where it is illogical to do so. If you would like to continue to have a teaching role, we currently have six positions you might be willing to accept, if you choose. Two are right here in Queensland, three over in Western Australia and one in Tasmania."

"But what about housing?"

"For now you will be placed in a temporary house that isn't too far from here, also since it is the school holidays, it will allow you to settle in a little and relax. We won't worry about the kids and schooling until the New Year, even child care for the youngest, if you like. Allow you to figure out what you wish to do in terms of career and where the choice may take you, because not all careers are located in the same area and there is always someone or somewhere that is in requirement of hands, no matter how small the job maybe."

The more Kylie McDowell spoke and explained, the more Severus could sense and feel that he had done the right thing.

Kylie placed her hand on a small amount of folders.

"These files are of the teaching positions, we even give tutorials and help you upgrade your skills if they are required, as I understand you are used to eleven to seventeen year olds, but it doesn't mean there isn't anything more to learn, and our curriculum is a bit different."

"Do I need to take them now?"

"If you like, but you do not have to right now," said Kylie, at this she moved to show the folders right next to the teaching position files. "These are just a handful of other career options you might wish to take a look at for something different, we have other files as well, and these ones were simply selected because we thought they might fit you, but we could be wrong. They also include where they are located within the country and which schools, childcare and other facilities that may be of use for you and your family, which would benefit.

"And this last one is the details of the temporary house you'll be staying in for the time being. It is partly furnished, with beds and the bare basics of utilities such as a stove and fridge. There won't be any couches or televisions, the reason is because we believe those items are something you, yourselves, retrieve for yourselves, add your own personal touches, especially for when you move into your permanent home once you've decided on what you wish to do and where that will take you. We've also included within this particular file your own account and the required cards and so on you are going to need to access it, we operate with predominantly with Muggo cash here, only using the wizarding currency when it is in due need or requirement in certain areas of either this country, or dealing with foreign affairs, where the Wizards have their own currency, such as the United Kingdom, Russia and Zimbabwe to name a few."

Kylie opened the folder for Severus to see for himself, the details she said were in there, the keys to the house, the card for account access and so on.

"If you accept, all you need to do is sign," said Kylie. "As for these, you don't need to sign anything, just look and think on them."

With an almost washed over feel of still trying to believe if this was even real, Severus placed his signature where it was required and before he knew it, he and his nieces and nephews were thanking the Rep-Min, Kylie McDowell and heading out of the place with Chris and Michael back to the van to move on to the location of the temporary house that was selected for them.

Surreal was the best word to describe how he felt.

* * *

_They made it! They made it to Australia!_


	19. House and Stuff

_Author's Note: I have absolutely no ownership whatsoever on the Harry Potter characters! Never have, never will. I just like to play with them. Okay, that sounded so, so wrong... However, I do lay claim over original characters that are from my own imagination._

_Thank you Guest, t42n24t2, Trickster32 and ThePhoenixandtheDragon for your reviews. I'm glad they made it too!_

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Chapter Nineteen

House and Stuff

The house they were provided with was a three bedroom highset, which had a veranda on the front and one at the back. Timber flooring throughout, except for the bathroom and kitchen, which had tiles. Louver style windows, with Venetian blinds, but thankfully there were flyscreens... not that it mattered much, as Elijah pointed out that the hotter months, which is where they were in at present, (a vast contrast to the winter cold they had come from), always bought out the flies, mosquitoes and such.

"And they always find a way to get inside!" he said to his Uncle.

Storage area underneath, decent sized yard and fully fenced with Cyclone fencing.

"We have a shed!" Victoria whooped with glee.

"What is so interesting about a shed?' Severus asked.

"It can store all your yard stuff and tools and whatever else. It's not so much the look, it's the practicality of it. We used to store our bikes in our old one," Victoria explains.

"You used to have bikes?"

"You saw the photos of what we once had, including the pets and stuff."

"I remember," said Severus. He didn't quite understand until that point on just how much his four nieces and nephews had given up upon the death of their parents until now.

As they had been told, beds and basic kitchen items were provided, otherwise, everything else was just plain bare. Well, save for the boxes of the belongings they had sent over to be kept safe; there were twenty boxes all up, all marked of who they belonged to, or which room they were from. Again, a stark reminder on just how much they had to give up in order to get out of the UK.

However, it was nice to see that in the kitchen, on the bench was a laundry basket with basic items, such as pasta, sauces, cereal and biscuits, even dish detergent, body soap and toilet paper. In the fridge, being kept cold, was milk, butter and eggs, nothing in the freezer, however. Next to the basket were vouchers that were for certain stores, such as Woolworths and Coles – for their groceries; clothing stores, Supre, Jay-Jays Best & Less, just to name a few, and a few others, like hardware, furniture and white goods. Enough to cover the expense, get what they need, without already carving into the money that has already been set up and wired, (which included a recommended receive of cash in the wallet so to speak, so that it was already on hand).

"They even threw in takeout menus who deliver," Elijah laughed with delight.

"Given the time, I think it is a best do that," said Severus, seeing that it was three in the afternoon and there wasn't really anything much else they could do at that point, except sort out just a few of their stuff, such as clothing into their built-in wardrobes, put their sleeping bags, (which they decided to buy whilst in New York, in case they were needed at some point, and good thing they did), on their beds – girls in one room, boys to another and Severus getting the master room all to himself.

So once everyone was able to sort out what they wanted from the Chinese Delivery and make the order, Severus recommended that everyone was to simply have showers, dress comfortably and play Uno until dinner arrived.

###

Next day, two cars arrived at the Snape household, one being the eight seater van that belonged to the Graemes, and the other was a five-seater hatchback. Chris and Michael, tagged along with Michael's younger sister, Kylie, as well as Isobel and her mother, Natalie, had arrived to take the Snapes to where they needed to go.

First stop is the furniture store with the list of desired items, with the ones of most importance marked in black, while the ones that are more of a 'would like to have but not worried if we get it right away' was in blue. Settling on a lounge set, with matching recliners, a handsome 9 piece dining set and an entertainment unit. They were able to find a decent coffee table, couple of desks and a bedside table at a second hand store – it was a recommendation from Chris and Natalie to looking into them, because sometimes the best items can be found there, even if they are preloved.

Severus was amazed on just how helpful the parents of Elijah and Victoria's friends were being. Considering he learned how Australia doesn't believe in the use of House Elves, or any employment of them, it is because it is necessary and the Elves have rights; plus majority of households find it more fulfilling to do their own chores, especially with magic to help things along. As well as the use of magic friendly electricity goods.

So when it came to finding the right magic compatible washer, dryer, television and DVD player, he was with the right people.

The children were able to be part of the choosing of the items, (so long it was within the pricing of the vouchers), because they would be helping in using the items. Including computers.

Getting them into the house proved to be just as mind boggling, as it wasn't so much getting them up the stairs, but where to place the stuff. Washer and dryer obviously went in the laundry area downstairs, arranging the lounge and dining areas, plus where to place the two desks were to go. Thankfully the main areas were sectioned in a way that it was possible to make sure that the desks were still in public view.

"Ever thought of getting yourself a driver's licence?" Chris asks Severus.

"I don't know to be honest."

"Might be worth looking into."

"Do you know where I can go?"

"Sure, there are few places around here that specialise in helping wizards in learning to drive," said Chris.

"Will probably get the names of those places from you," said Severus.

"I can get that to you by tomorrow afternoon, when I drop Eli, Vicky and Gabbo off back home, after spending the night at our place, as you permitted. That way it allows you to just take Ainsley with you to do the rest of the shopping you need to do."

The Snapes were able to get a few extra items of food for their fridge and pantry, such as fresh bread and such, but because of the full day they had furniture shopping and sorting the house out, not to mention that it was only a few days out from Christmas, it was advised that Severus get in as early as possible, so he discovered by just getting the few items he needed. He was surprised there wasn't any eye gouging and flame throwing the way some of the people were acting.

So come the next day, and pleasant surprise on how fast he was able to get himself and Ainsley ready to head on out, Severus was glad to have taken on the advice from Chris and Natalie when it came to shopping, because by the time he was done and ready for the taxi, the cars were starting to shark for spaces around the parking areas and shops filling up.

"Let's get you home for an early lunch and nap, shall we?" he simply says to Ainsley.

Elijah, Victoria and Gabriel arrived home to drop their jaws to see the place was now decorated and ready for Christmas, including a tree that was standing in the lounge room, but with no decorations on it.

"Figured that you three would like to do the tree," said Severus, showing a nice selection of tree decorations from baubles to candy canes, tinsel and whatever else could go on the tree.

"What about Ainsley?"

"She helped me with the rest of the house," said Severus.

Without needing more convincing the three older children happily started to sort through the decorations and figure what ought to go where upon the six foot tree.

* * *

_Short chapter, I apologise. I didn't know what else to write with this at the moment, going into a sort of writer's block with this story at the moment._


End file.
